A Trail of Hope
by FivebyFive89
Summary: Suvi isn't exactly questing for Sara's affections (that would be unprofessional!), but, hey, if it happens, who is she to deny it? Following the game plot with various other shenanigans thrown in there. All characters present with eventual Suvi/Sara (because, come on, they're adorable!)
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: I fell in love with Suvi/Sara the second I witnessed that hilariously awkward attempt at flirting on the bridge of the Tempest with poor Kallo there to witness the epic fail XD This is my version of events.**

 **So! I've tried not to narrate the moments you will all be familiar with, but either mention briefly or skim over them. There will be dialogue lifted from the game for some points and also the general order of the game's story has been tweaked a little. I've tried not to change things too drastically.**

 **Based on a custom Sara who sounds enough like default Sara to hopefully not be too jarring, and my own interpretation of her and other characters. Hope you enjoy it!**

* * *

Dr Suvi Anwar remembered clearly the first time she had met Sara Ryder, the human Pathfinder. It was a meeting that had gone relatively well, though Suvi always cringed with embarrassment when she thought about it. Sara had playfully offered to teach the awkward academic a thing or two about guns and exploring and all that daunting adventuring stuff that seemed so exciting and dangerous and natural to her. Suvi had leaped at the chance to spend some time with this pretty new arrival.

"I couldn't imagine a better teacher!" She had replied gleefully. _Why? Why say that?! You've only just met, you dork_. Sara had seemed a little bemused by the enthusiasm, though not displeased.

"Um, I should go. I have…data from the Nexus science team to look through." Suvi had scurried away, cheeks burning hot enough to surely match the colour of her fiery hair.

Okay, so admittedly it could have gone worse, and Suvi was probably the only one that continued to think about it but still. Sara had seemed so cool and collected. Crash landed on an alien planet, almost died, stranded without her team, first contact with an unfriendly alien race, discovered crazy new alien tech, _actually_ died, lost her father and then had a surprise transferal of the Pathfinder title? No problem! Just going to jump back up, take control of a ship and find a home for humanity in a new galaxy. Suvi wished she could have just a fraction of that confidence and swagger. Then she could march right over there and sweep Sara off her feet and-

"You are staring."

Suvi jumped as the low rumble of Jaal's voice right by her ear cut through her thoughts. She twisted in her seat to give him a bewildered look. Jaal's eyes flicked from Suvi's face to Sara and back again.

They were sat together with Kallo in a corner booth at the Vortex bar on the Nexus, a rare opportunity for the crew of the Tempest to socialise together after successfully rescuing a horde of angara and the Moshae on the ice planet Voeld. And restoring the vault on Aya. And receiving permission to settle Voeld. Sara was the best Pathfinder.

Cora, Drack and Vetra stood at the bar as the rest of the crew fooled about on the dance floor. Some kind of Battarian techno music blared over the speakers. Suvi could feel the thumping drumbeat through the metal of their table. Thankfully this gloomy corner of the room seemed somewhat sheltered from the racket. They could actually hear each other talk.

"You were staring at Ryder," Jaal told Suvi again, watching her curiously as a blush coloured her cheeks.

"N-no I wasn't," she said quickly. "I was just…staring. In general."

"I saw it too," Kallo piped up helpfully. "You should ask her to dance." Suvi glared at her friend, unsure if he was teasing her or offering a genuine suggestion. He had been the first to figure her out after one too many fond looks sent the Pathfinder's way, and fortunately kept it to himself. If the rest of the crew found out Suvi had a crush on Sara she would just die of embarrassment. Lord if _Sara_ found out…Suvi suspected she would be the victim of many a witty or sarcastic comment. Sara seemed to find humour appropriate in _all_ situations, whether it was wise or not. She had fallen prey to the merciless teasing of the Pathfinder more than once. The rock-licking moment had been the worst… Suvi knew her feelings for Sara would never be reciprocated, they were polar-opposites. Sara was the wild and adventurous and just downright crazy military gal. Suvi was the quiet intellectual who preferred a good book and a cup of tea over this loud and crowded club. But hey, a girl could dream, right?

"Kallo, that is not dancing," Suvi gestured towards the dance floor where Sara was currently flailing between Gil, Peebee and Liam who were bopping in circles around her. "That is some kind of ritualistic…I don't even know. And this is not music, it's noise," she sighed. "I might go back to the ship. Give Lexi some company." Lexi, who had insisted she had too much data to go through and couldn't possibly take a night off. It was clearly a well devised ploy to escape the horror of this place.

"Would you like me to accompany you?" Jaal asked courteously.

"Thank you for the offer, but it's a short walk back to the ship, Jaal," Suvi said with a soft smile. The angaran nodded and rose from his seat and stepped aside to let Suvi out.

"If I may, a word of advice, Dr Anwar," he said, watching Suvi shuffle awkwardly along the curved sofa to escape the confines of their booth. "Angara are very…forthcoming with our emotions. I find it makes matters less complicated."

"I'll bare that in mind," Suvi said, climbing to her feet. This was a matter that would become far more complicated if she wore her heart on her sleeve than if she were to hide her affections and quietly deal with them herself. The mission was stressful enough without including wayward feelings. "I'll see you tomorrow."

"It already is tomorrow," Kallo said.

"Later then. Don't stay up too late!" Suvi said, waving goodbye as she navigated the floor, weaving in and out of drunks and spilled drinks that made for treacherous footing.

The heavy metal doors had just hissed open in front of her when she was stopped by a firm but friendly hand on her shoulder and an indignant, "hey!"

Suvi reluctantly turned to face a pouting Sara.

"Where are you going?" She demanded, swaying a little on the spot. Suvi could smell the alcohol on her breath. Fruity with a hint of nail polish remover. That explained the 'dancing'…

"Back to the ship," she answered, well aware of Jaal and Kallo watching her intently from across the room. She folded her arms over her chest uncomfortably and glanced away. Couldn't they be a little less conspicuous? "I have…Things. To do."

"Aw, okay. Spoil sport." Sara smiled and nudged her shoulder playfully with the knuckles of one hand, much too drunk to spot the lamest excuse ever. "I guess this isn't really fun for nerds."

Suvi arched one eyebrow, though judging by her colleague's open expression she hadn't meant it maliciously. And it was true. This was in no way, shape, or form fun for Suvi. The results on Aya's soil composition waiting on her data pad however... She wished she had thought up the work excuse along with Lexi.

"Thank you for putting up with it this long!" Sara added brightly. "Have fun with Lexi!" She turned and wobbled off back to Gil, Peebee and Liam's three-man rave.

Suvi watched her go, then switched her gaze to Jaal and Kallo, giving them a pointed look. They swiftly turned to each other and leaped into an animated conversation about goodness knows what. Suvi sighed and left the stuffy air and the deafening music of the club for the pleasantly cool and peaceful docking bay of the Nexus. At this time of night (day…?) it was relatively empty. And so quiet. Her ears began to ring faintly in the sudden silence after the noise of the club.

A couple of turian security guards were patrolling the upper walkway above her, the heavy clomping of their boots against the white tiled floor and hushed conversation the only sound Suvi could hear (apart from the muffled racket of Vortex behind her, but that faded with each step she took towards the Tempest). The glowing blue Avina avatar stood motionless and silent on her platform, staring into the distance with a pleasant smile on her face. She didn't stir as Suvi passed her by. The immigration staff were booking in a group of sleepy humans at their desks near the cultural exchange as a lone dockworker wheeled a trolley of cargo away from the doorway that lead to the landing platforms. A male human in the blue and white body armour of Nexus security stood guard beside a glowing console. Suvi smiled brightly at him as she passed, the doors whooshing open automatically to admit her to the long corridor beyond. She turned through the first doorway on her left and made her way out onto the wide landing platform that the Tempest had docked at, her pace picking up as she thought about curling up in her bunk with her data pad.

She went straight to the crew's quarters on entering the ship, grabbing her data pad before she headed into the galley and made herself the much-needed tea. She sighed sadly as she saw she was almost out of teabags. It was from back home on Earth, and once it was gone…well. It was gone.

"Ah, I thought I heard someone."

Suvi glanced over her shoulder in surprise at the voice.

"Lexi, you startled me!" She cried. The asari doctor smiled apologetically at her, entering the galley.

"Sorry, Suvi. You startled me too. I wasn't expecting anyone back yet. Sara assured me it would be an all night thing," she replied. Suvi eyed the doctor, taking in her decidedly unrumpled appearance, her crisp medical uniform and bright eyes.

"Why are you still up?" She asked, lifting her mug and cradling it in both hands. "Shouldn't you be asleep?"

"You know how it is when you're absorbed in your research…" Lexi said, folding her arms over her chest. "What brings you back ahead of the horde?"

"Clubbing isn't really my thing," Suvi admitted.

"I sympathise." Lexi gave her an amused smile. "What about the others? Are they enjoying themselves?"

"Yes," Suvi said, breathing deep from the steam curling upwards out of her mug. It was soothing, reminded her of home. No, of Earth and the Milky Way. This was home now. Andromeda. "Why?" She sensed more behind the question than idle curiosity. Lexi gestured at the dining table in the corner of the room and crossed over to pull out a chair and sit. Suvi scraped back the chair opposite the asari, setting her mug down in front of her as she sat facing her, waiting for Lexi to talk.

"I'm worried about Sara," she said after a moment. "The others seem to be adjusting well to the stress they're facing daily. But Sara…" Lexi hesitated, eyes narrowing as she focussed on a point on the table top and considered how best to explain herself to the science officer. She sighed and raised her eyes to Suvi's. "Sara was thrown into the role of Pathfinder without warning. She has no training and is trying to pretend she has everything under control for the benefit of everyone else. I feel like she wants us to see her as the self-assured woman with all the answers. She doesn't want anyone to see her struggle. She's closed herself off." Lexi paused, taking a deep breath and letting it out slowly. "I probably shouldn't be speaking to you about this but to be honest with you I'm at a loss. I've noticed she's becoming more reckless on her missions. Whether to prove a point or… I don't know." She sighed again and shook her head, falling silent.

"I…Had noticed, somewhat," Suvi admitted. She had seen the mission logs. Been there to listen over comms for some of them. While Sara was more than skilled enough to hang back with her sniper rifle she seemed to prefer charging into the thick of things with a shotgun resulting in a visit to Lexi after almost every visit planet side. As though surviving those situations could prove she was indestructible. "I had no idea it was so bad though." If the doctor was worried the situation had to be pretty dire.

"It's cause for concern, but I wouldn't label it 'bad' just yet," Lexi told her. "She's had no time to adjust. Everything's happened so fast since Habitat 7. I think I'm seeing this through the eyes of a friend rather than a doctor." She gave a wry smile.

"Well, we're a small crew…" Suvi shrugged her shoulders faintly. "Close knit. Bonds are bound to form. That doesn't make you less of a professional if that's what you're worried about."

"Maybe I am." Lexi leaned back in her chair, smiling at Suvi. "And maybe you're right." She stood up. "Thank you for talking. I'll let you get on with your tea."

"Any time," Suvi said, watching Lexi go. The galley door slid shut, leaving her in blissful silence. She stood and crossed the room to pick up her data pad from where she had left it on the counter, scrolling through to the information she wanted to read as she returned to her chair to read.

But she couldn't concentrate. Lexi's worry was contagious.

* * *

 **A/N: First chapter, finally! This has taken a surprisingly long time. I'm aiming for a weekly update, so stay tuned!**


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: Okay so I'm updating a day early because from tomorrow work is getting hectic and I won't have time to update DX**

* * *

"Ugh, I think I'm dying…" Sara groaned melodramatically, allowing her head to drop onto the metal desk she sat in front of with a loud thud that rattled her brain in her skull. White hot barbs of pain knifed through her temples and she groaned again, bringing her hands up to massage her scalp in an effort to relieve the pressure. Across the medbay, Lexi barely batted an eyelid as she pulled things out of cupboards and arranged them on a tray on the work bench in front of herself.

"Don't be ridiculous," she replied calmly with her back to Sara, pouring chilled water from a bottle into a steel cup and adding in various powders from packets and liquids from the tiny bottles on her tray. She began mixing up her concoction for the ailing Pathfinder with a spoon. The faint scraping of the spoon against the cup sounded like nails on a chalkboard to Sara in her current state.

Sara had zombied into the medbay that morning and all but collapsed into Lexi's chair at her desk with a gravelly moan and a plea for help. "No one ever died from a hangover."

"Are you sure?" Sara croaked pathetically, twisting her head sideways on the desk to watch the doctor as she turned to face her. Even that tiny movement set mini krogan stomping angrily through the inside of her cranium.

"Perfectly," she said. "Alcohol poisoning, now that's another matter. Here. Drink this." She walked towards her desk and held out the cup to Sara, who pushed herself up into a sitting position with a grunt of exertion and took the cup. She looked suspiciously at the vaguely fizzing fluid, then up at Lexi who stood before her watching her expectantly.

"What is it…?" She asked, and Lexi paused before answering.

"Do you want the long answer or the short?"

"Definitely short…"

"Hangover cure."

"Okay." Sara looked down, sniffed at the drink and wrinkled her nose at the horribly chemical scent. She hesitated again as her gag reflex frantically warned her not to drink it, and turned her blood shot eyes back to the asari. "You sure?" Lexi rolled her eyes.

"Who's the doctor here?" She asked pointedly, crossing her arms over her chest and looking down at Sara in exasperation. She was more like a petulant child with bellyache than an adult human Pathfinder with a hangover. "It will settle your stomach and get rid of the headache."

"Okay." Sara knocked it back in one. It tasted vile and made her retch, but the promise of feeling human again was too good to pass up. She pressed her knuckles to her mouth and fought to keep it down as her stomach heaved.

"I suppose I'll be serving this on tap today," Lexi muttered, taking the cup back and moving away to start clearing up her work station. She hadn't heard movement from the rest of the crew yet, save for Kallo and Suvi, who were sensible enough to not drink excessive amounts of alcohol, and Drack, who was krogan and so effectively had a cast iron stomach, though suspected the others would soon be shuffling in to visit her. Well, maybe not Cora. She would probably battle through with sheer force of will.

"Are you gonna lecture us?" Sara mumbled, looking so sorry for herself the asari had to laugh.

"What am I, the fun police?" She asked. "It's good to enjoy yourself once in a while. Just don't make it a regular thing, okay?"

"Yes, ma'am." Sara tapped her fingers against her temple in a lame salute. Lexi smiled and shooed her away.

"Go and get some breakfast. You'll be needed on the bridge soon enough, I'm sure," she said. Sara reluctantly heaved herself out of the chair, knowing the doctor was right. She stuffed her hands into the front pocket of her Initiative hoodie and dragged herself out of the medbay, heading for the galley.

* * *

Sara Ryder was of average height and built slim but solid, though most of her frame was hidden by the grey and black Pathfinder hoodie and baggy cargos she usually wore. She had long chestnut brown hair naturally streaked with lighter and darker browns that was usually tied into a high pony tail at the back of her head, long bangs that framed her face and bright blue eyes that were usually alive with mischief but were currently clouded and bloodshot. A faint pink scar bisected her right eyebrow, ending at her cheek bone. Sara rubbed it sometimes when deep in thought which suggested it felt different to the surrounding skin. Maybe it was ridged slightly? It didn't look it.

Suvi allowed herself a respectable one minute's study (read: ogle) of the woefully oblivious Pathfinder before finally speaking up. "You can't eat toast by staring at it."

Sara dragged her eyes up from the breakfast she had been watching for the past…however long she had been slumped at the dining table, and blinked in surprise at Suvi, who was stood in the open doorway of the galley with a soft smile on her lips, turquoise eyes teasing. To say Sara looked under the weather would be a massive understatement.

"I didn't hear you come in," Sara said apologetically, sitting up straight in a vain attempt to look professional. "Sorry."

Suvi dismissed the apology with a wave of one hand.

"Good morning, Ryder," she greeted her brightly, not moving from her position in the doorway. She grinned when Sara made her opinion on the morning known with a grimace. "I see you enjoyed last night."

"What I remember," Sara admitted with a crooked smile.

"Would you come up to the bridge when you're ready?" Suvi asked, gesturing vaguely over one shoulder. "We have something important to tell you."

"Sure. I won't be long," she nodded. Suvi smiled again and left and the door slide closed after her. Sara stared down at her plain buttered toast once more (or rather the vacuum packaged, freeze-dried bread thing that was labelled 'toast') waiting for Lexi's weird drink to stop her gut feeling like bubbling lava. Even thinking about eating caused her stomach to tremor and her throat to close in protest. "I'm never touching alcohol again," she muttered to herself.

At least Drack hadn't found her yet. She just knew he would find the whole thing hilarious.

* * *

Sara paused on the raised walkway in front of the automatic door to the bridge, standing just beyond the range of the sensors, to take a deep breath and stand tall. Lexi's hangover cure had finally settled her stomach, and she had managed to eat her breakfast and keep it down, but her eyes still felt gritty and her thoughts sluggish. She cocked her head to one side as she composed herself, able to hear raised voices on the other side of the door. They were muffled by the thick metal panels but without question belonged to Kallo and Suvi. She strode forwards and the door slid open with a soft hiss to admit her to the bridge. Kallo and Suvi immediately stopped talking to face her.

"Now, you two wouldn't be fighting would you?" Sara asked, tone light but suspicious. She couldn't cope with having to break up an argument right now… Suvi laughed in response, but Kallo looked genuinely affronted.

"Why would I be fighting with my best friend?" He demanded.

"Best friend? Aw! Kallo!" Suvi grinned and rubbed his skinny bicep fondly, then looked eagerly back at Sara. "We're just excited about a report I received from Eos," she paused for dramatic effect. "Radiation levels are steadily dropping."

"That's great news," Sara replied with a smile, finding their enthusiasm infectious despite feeling like Drack had kicked her from one end of the Tempest to the other. "So, the vault's working then?"

"Yes, definitely," Suvi said. "But…There's been a rise in kett activity too." Sara rolled her eyes. Then wished she hadn't when her headache threatened to return.

"Figures," she muttered, barely managing to conceal a wince. She reached up to rub her forehead, changed it at the last moment to rub at her scar with one finger. She didn't want Kallo and Suvi to see her suffering with a hangover, though it was painfully obvious. She looked dreadful.

"But…It might be nice to head back?" Suvi suggested.

"Almost like a vacation!" Kallo said eagerly. A slow grin spread across Sara's face. A vacation sounded great right now.

"Maybe we should head back," she agreed casually. "You know. See how Prodromos is doing…" Kallo and Suvi grinned at each other, catching on, then faced Sara.

"Of course, Pathfinder," Suvi said, putting on her most professional-sounding voice.

"Right away, Pathfinder!" Kallo added, turning and hurrying to his chair at the controls.

Sara made her way over to the galaxy map, swiping her palm over the console to activate it.

"Setting course for Eos."


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: Juuuuuuust enough time to squeeze in an upload before I head into London to meet my all time fave author Kathy Reichs! :O The hype is real.**

* * *

There weren't many things that Sara Ryder regretted in her life. She opted for the philosophy of _carpe diem_. Seize the moment. Because tomorrow you might be dead. Especially since having the Pathfinder role thrust upon her without warning as she could literally be dead at any moment nowadays. However, standing her ground against a charging fiend was fast becoming something she regretted. With each lumbering step the monstrous creature took towards her, that regret steadily climbed the list of things never to do ever again towards top spot. She saw the flashes of Peebee and Vetra's ammo striking the fiend's tough hide, opening tiny wounds all over that the beast didn't seem to notice.

"Ryder, get out of there!" Vetra cried over comms. The speaker in her helmet made it sound as though the turian was stood right next to her rather than up the ridge behind her.

"It's fine," Sara replied, her voice a helluva lot calmer than she actually felt right now. She felt the faint tremors through the ground as the beast barrelled towards her. Saw her glowing combat drone shift position beside her as it sensed incoming danger. Saw the fiend alter its stance on the fly as it prepared to lunge the final few meters and grab her. She waited a beat, then threw herself sideways, using her jump jets to lend speed and force to the manoeuvre. Her combat drone self-destructed as the fiend passed harmlessly by, claws churning up the sand as it tried to turn back towards her. Or rather, almost harmlessly. It swiped out at her, heavy knuckles clipping her left shoulder in the same moment that Sara sent out an arc of electricity from her omni-tool. Sara stumbled, spinning slightly off balance and only just regained her footing. Her shields absorbed most of the impact but a light cuff from a fiend was like being hit by a charging krogan.

The fiend let out a bellow of rage as its muscles seized and froze it in place, electricity crackling across its hide, filling the air with the scent of singed hair and burning skin that her helmet thankfully filtered out. Sara shouldered her shotgun and unloaded clip after clip into the beast's head. At such a close range the thick bony plating didn't stand a chance. The fiend was dead before it had even regained control over its muscles. Sara watched as it slumped into the sand, emitting one final, pitiful gurgle before falling silent.

"Ryder, that was awesome!" Peebee shouted gleefully, sliding down the ridge and dashing across the sand towards the now dead fiend.

"Are you all right?" Vetra asked as she followed Peebee down.

Every breath she took sent a bolt of pain knifing across her collar bone and through her shoulder, down to her elbow. "Fine," Sara replied, forcing her injured arm to obey as she reached behind her waist to holster her shotgun.

Vetra's mandibles twitched as she clearly saw right through the statement but decided against pressing the matter. She finally tore her gaze away from the injured Pathfinder and looked pointedly towards the Nomad. "We should head back."

"Right," Sara muttered, pushing passed her companions. "Lamest vacation ever," she grumbled, rolling her shoulder and wincing at the sharp ache that movement produced. Lexi would need to check her over. And Lexi would not be happy when she explained the reason for her injury.

* * *

"What were you thinking?!" Lexi demanded as Sara sat on the end of an examination table, hoodie crumpled beside her while the asari doctor pushed and pulled at her shoulder. Lexi most definitely was not happy. "Or were you even thinking at all? We've already lost one Pathfinder, we don't need to lose another!"

Sara grit her teeth as her shoulder fervently protested its current position. Taking off her armour had been agony and when she stepped into the shower she realised the livid bruise spreading across her shoulder and chest meant she couldn't procrastinate any longer. It could be a break or some other injury she couldn't blag her way out of. Stupid fiend.

"You're not going to lose another," she told the doctor arrogantly. Lexi's angry face appeared mere inches from hers, causing her to snap her head back in surprise.

"Really?" She asked sharply, then registered the startled expression on Sara's face and stepped back from her patient. Her own expression softened considerably. "I'm sorry," she said, closing her eyes briefly and taking a deep breath to calm herself. "I'm being unprofessional. But right now it feels like harsh words are the only way to get through to you."

"Don't worry about it," Sara said with a wry smile, "I gave you a fright."

Lexi noted, with relief, that the cockiness was gone now, instead the Pathfinder looked down at one knee as she worried at a loose thread in her trousers with her thumbnail, like a child scolded over some trivial matter.

"It was an unnecessary risk," she said regretfully. "I could have brought him down another way."

"I worry about you, Ryder," Lexi sighed, moving away to activate the medical scanner on her omni tool and begin passing the beams over Sara's arm. She saw almost immediately there was no cause for concern and so deactivated the scanner to turn away and open one of the many cupboards lining the walls. "The burdens of being an untrained Pathfinder-"

"It's fine," Sara interrupted stiffly. "I'm fine. Can I go now?" Lexi hesitated a moment with her back to Sara still to hide the irritation on her face, knowing no amount of protesting would keep Sara here to discuss matters, then turned back to face her.

"Ryder, you're not just important to the Initiative. You're important to us. Here. And you're more than a symbol to us. You're family. I need you to take care of yourself, okay? _We_ need you to take care of yourself." Surprise flickered briefly across Sara's face and…something else. Some small hint at an opening in that tough exterior the Pathfinder seemed so intent on showing them all. But almost as soon as she noticed it that indifferent look had returned, that rigid control. Still. Perhaps Sara would remember that moment, however brief. Small victories.

"Your shoulder needs rest," she said in the soft but firm tones she reserved for troublesome patients. Not that she expected Sara would ever heed such advice, special tone or no. "And this," she tossed a pack of medi-gel to Sara, who deftly caught it, thankfully, with her uninjured hand. "You're lucky. It's just bruised. The medi-gel will soothe the pain and speed recovery. Resting will mean even _faster_ recovery. Okay?" Lexi fixed her with a stern look.

"Got it." Sara hopped to her feet, gesturing with her pack of gel. "Doctor's orders mean super speedy recovery so I can get out there and find them paths." She winked at Lexi and strode out of the medbay.

Lexi heaved yet another sigh. "In one ear and out the other," she muttered, turning back to her work.

* * *

The door opened and heavy boots thudded against the metal floor panels of the bridge in a familiar rhythm. Suvi smiled and turning in her seat to greet their visitor.

"Path…finder…" Her voice trailed off. Sara stood in the middle of the room preoccupied with her bruised shoulder as she prodded and poked at it experimentally. Judging by the light sheen on her skin it had been coated in medi-gel, to heal the damage and numb the pain. That wasn't what caused Suvi to falter. The cause of that was the white tank top that seemed determined to hug Sara's well-defined form, leaving little to the imagination and promptly derailing Suvi's train of thought. Her mind went blank, a sensation she was unused to. It took a lot to quiet the myriad thoughts crowding her head, but she decided as Sara had become the focus instead, she didn't really mind.

She had only ever seen Sara in her baggy black and grey Pathfinder hoodie and cargoes or the white armour she used. She could see the strength in Sara's bare arms, her body slim but toned and so, _so-_

"Tempest to Suvi?"

"Ah-wah-yes?!" Suvi spluttered. Sara cocked her head to one side and eyed her curiously, wiping medi-gel from her hands onto the front of her top.

"You okay?" She asked, thumb-hooking her belt loops and shifting her weight into one leg.

"Yes!" Suvi said quickly, hoping the blush she could feel warming her cheeks wasn't as obvious as she suspected it was. "A-are you? What did Lexi have to say?" She tried to pretend she couldn't see Kallo in her peripheral shaking his head at her as he worked the controls of the Tempest. They were leaving Eos, heading for Kadara. Sara lifted her injured arm, rolled and flexed the joint. Suvi tried to keep her eyes away from that firm muscle but found them drawn to the dark, angry bruising marking her fair skin. Sara noted the shift in Suvi's expression, the concern, and dropped her arm with a smile and an easy shrug.

"I'm fine. And I'm not grounded by Doctor Mom so…Win-win?"

"Doctor Mum?" Suvi asked in amusement with raised eyebrows. "Really?" Sara gave her a cheeky smile that the science officer couldn't help but return.

"She fusses _all_ the time," she said. "I mean, I love her to bits but come on!"

"Well, if you will insist on scaring us all half to death every time you leave the ship…" Suvi told her playfully, twisting in her seat to face the controls again. She felt her seat lean back slightly as Sara moved behind her to fold both arms across the headrest and rest her chin atop her forearms. She swallowed as she became incredibly aware of the Pathfinder's warm breath ruffling the hair on top of her head.

"I do _not_ scare you all half to death," Sara replied indignantly. "You guys worry too much."

Suvi tipped her head back to look up at her, meeting brilliant blue eyes that shone with mischief. It caused her heart to flutter, seeing them so close and trained right on her. One eyebrow twitched faintly, as though daring Suvi to challenge her.

"You scare me," she said quietly. "I'll always worry. There's only one of you…"

Sara rolled her eyes and pulled away, walls going up in response to Suvi's sincere admission. "Relax, you'll get Cora if anything happens to me," she said, heavy boots beating a path back to the centre of the bridge.

"That's not what I-" Suvi silently cursed herself. She should know by now even the slightest hint of an emotional conversation would just trigger jokes and deflections from Sara. Showing care only pushed her away. She couldn't even take the possibility of her own death seriously. That Cora would step up _so_ wasn't the point. It would break them to lose another Pathfinder. To lose Sara. It would break Suvi… "Just take care of yourself."

"Sure thing, doc." Sara tapped two fingers to her temple in a sarcastic salute as Suvi leaned around her chair to look at her, turned smartly on one heel and promptly left the bridge. The doors whooshed shut behind her.

Silence followed.

"Well," Kallo said after a moment, "that went well."

Suvi had no idea if he was being ironic or genuine and so answered with a heavy sigh, focussing her attention back on the controls in front of her.


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N: So I had a lot of fun with this and hope you enjoy reading it as much as I did writing it!**

* * *

 _"The Pathfinder is down! I repeat, the Pathfinder is down! Request immediate evac!"_ Liam practically screamed through comms. Explosions and gunfire lent urgency to his words, distorted by the speakers on the bridge. _"Get Lexi ready!"_ He ordered.

 _"We're clear."_ Jaal's voice to Liam. Strained.

Suvi felt her breath catch in her throat, her mind latching on to one thing. Pathfinder…Down? She could hear her heart pounding in her ears as she struggled to comprehend. What did that even mean? Sara was dead? But…He wanted them to have Lexi ready? So, she needed medical help? Her brain tripped over several explanations at once, became confused. Ground to a halt.

"Suvi!" Kallo's sharp voice finally caught her attention and she turned to stare at him. He met her gaze, large black eyes unblinking, then turned back to the glowing buttons and displays he sat in front of. "Help Lexi. I'm bringing us in." His long fingers flew over the controls, already turning the ship towards the ground team's coordinates.

"Yes. Right," Suvi said dully, climbing to her feet and stumbling to the medbay on autopilot. She descended the ladder outside the bridge door slowly and deliberately on limbs that shook with adrenaline and was almost bowled over as she stepped off at the bottom by Peebee, Cora and Vetra sprinting out of the crews' quarters to the weapons lockers, getting ready to cover Liam, Jaal and Sara if needs be. Drack was already waiting for the ramp to be lowered in the cargo bay to lend his krogan strength. Suvi made her way into the medbay in a daze, still struggling as Liam's chilling words replayed themselves over and over in her head.

Lexi was a whirlwind of activity, zooming around the room, hurried but frighteningly calm, as she prepared a table for potential operating, filling trays with equipment for every scenario. She barely looked up when Suvi entered.

"Um, Kallo said I should help…"

"I don't know what's happened. Some kind of trauma," Lexi said in a rush. But that was obvious. She had heard the same message over comms as everyone else had. "Here, hold these." She thrust a bundle of sterilized packets into Suvi's arms and dashed off again. She pulled items from cupboards, ignoring doors that swung back open after slamming them shut, adjusted bright lights that hung from the ceiling on stainless steel arms, all with practiced ease, fast but cool and collected. Unlike Suvi's jumbled mind. "We have to prepare for anything."

"I don't know what to do," Suvi told her blankly, not moving from her position in front of the door with her armful of clinically sealed medical equipment. "I'm not a doctor like you." She knew space and dirt and…not medicine or anatomy. Lexi's head snapped up at her tone, took in the pale complexion and confused expression and finally realised Suvi was in shock.

"It's okay," Lexi said, voice soft and soothing, hazel eyes sincere as she approached the startled science officer. Whatever had happened to Sara she was certain she could fix. "I'll tell you what to do."

"Ramp down!" Drack bellowed through the ship, gravelly voice carrying easily. Boots clanged on metal as the others raced down the ramp to meet their comrades, weapons ready.

Lexi grabbed the items she had given to Suvi, dumped them on a tray and dragged her out of the medbay towards the open cargo bay.

Jaal and Liam had Ryder's arms around their necks and were dragging her limp form towards the ship. Her feet dragged along the metal panels and her head lolled.

Vetra, Cora, and Peebee crouched at intervals along the ramp and watched for enemies lurking in the hills of Kadara outside as the sun set behind the Tempest, lengthening shadows and providing ample hiding places for any enemy reinforcements.

"Outta the way," Drack told them gruffly, grabbing Sara from them and easily slinging her over one shoulder. Suvi felt her stomach lurch almost painfully and drew in a sharp breath as she saw the wreck of Sara's back. Charred and shattered armour plating, torn fabric and…blood. So much blood. Running over the remaining white plates in scarlet rivulets, splashing to the floor as Drack stomped back up the ramp.

Her armour's omni-gel stores had attempted to repair the damage, the medi-gel tried to seal the wounds, but the harm had been too extensive. The gel injectors were meant only for quick patch-up jobs, not trauma from the full force of an explosion.

"To the medbay," Lexi ordered automatically.

"I know," Drack growled at her as he stomped passed.

"What happened?" She turned to Liam and Jaal as they followed Drack with her. Any extra information could be the difference between life and death. Better that than going in blind. At first glance she could see she had a long night ahead.

"It's my fault…" Jaal said, watching Drack move ahead of them. Lexi sensed an incoming guilty tirade that would help no one, least of all Sara.

"SitRep _now_ ," She said firmly and was pleased to see the soldier in him take charge over the friend in the stiffening of his spine, the straightening of his shoulders. Jaal turned his gaze to her.

"Grenade," he explained. "To the back. Protecting me…"

Lexi nodded once and rushed to catch up with Drack, reaching him just as he entered the medbay. "On the table, then out. Everyone to your stations. You can't help her by crowding around in here."

* * *

As Jaal told it, they had been jumped by a large group of incredibly violent scavengers in the Kadara Badlands who didn't take kindly to the Initiative encroaching on 'their' turf, regardless of it being accidentally. A firefight broke out, a grenade had been thrown. Sara had reacted on instinct, diving forwards and shielding Jaal with her body. At point-blank range her shields had done their best to absorb the explosion, but shrapnel had ripped through, wrecking her armour and embedding itself in her back. The concussive blast had knocked her out. Thankfully the wounds weren't too deep, courtesy of well-built shields and armour, and no lasting damage had been done. All vital organs and arteries were intact. It all looked a lot worse than it really was. The scavengers had been dealt with immediately afterwards and Jaal had finished blaming himself.

Though Sara was now in need of a new set of armour…

Lexi sat in the chair at her desk across the room from where Sara lay on her front, still out cold from the drugs the asari doctor had injected into her as she probed the wounds. The shrapnel had been removed, the wounds stitched closed and sealed with medi-gel. Sara would be fine, but despite this news Lexi doubted the crew would sleep that night. And neither would she. Too much adrenaline.

It was late. So late. But Sara had given them all quite the scare. Again.

"You have _got_ to stop doing this…" Lexi murmured, watching Sara, the gentle rise and fall of her form as she slept. From here, with the blanket hiding the swaths of bandages she looked so innocent, so peaceful. Lexi wished it could always be so. So much trauma for someone so young.

But then…They had always known it wouldn't be easy, coming to Andromeda.

* * *

Sara had not had a gentle awakening. There had been pain and…pain. Lots of pain. Thankfully Lexi had been standing by ready to give her a large dose of painkillers that made her head buzz pleasantly. A moment later Lexi had her sit up for a scan from her omni-tool. Sara looked down at her bra for a moment, then up at the doctor. "I don't have a top on," she told the asari blearily, as Lexi moved around behind her to eye up the wounds in her back and change the dressings.

"Yes, well. That's what happens when you body block a grenade and I have to patch you up," she stated matter of fact. Sara nodded as though that were the fairest thing to say in the universe, sitting perfectly still as Lexi scanned her. "I had Cora bring you some clothes in this morning. Get changed and you can go." Sara glanced back at Lexi, who was looking at the readouts from her scan. "Minor bruising as well as the shrapnel wounds. You'll live." She met Sara's unfocussed gaze and smiled. "Get yourself something to eat and then rest up. Take it easy and I'll come and check on you later." Sara gave her a clumsy thumbs up.

She was dressed and unleashed upon the Tempest a few minutes later. Lexi had steered her into the galley where Drack, laughing at her bedraggled state, had made her a hearty breakfast from packets of bacon-flavoured rations. Sara devoured it in seconds before wandering off with a cup of coffee in hand promising to go straight to her quarters and take it easy for the rest of the day. However, as the galley door slid shut behind her and she stood before the door to her own quarters, she had second thoughts. She somehow managed to climb the ladder outside the galley without spilling any of her drink and clambered up onto the above deck, then stumbled onto the bridge where Suvi and Kallo were in their usual seats.

"Hey, guysssss." Sara grinned at them.

"Ryder!" Suvi cried enthusiastically, glad to see the Pathfinder up and about, though her expression immediately switched to concern when she saw Sara's current state of 'high as a kite'. She shared a worried glance with Kallo, then looked back to Sara. "Um…Should you be here?" She asked, half rising out of her seat to help the swaying Pathfinder, but Sara had already moved over to stand beside her.

"Lexi said I could go," Sara slurred at her. Kallo vigorously shook his head behind her, clearly not believing that. "She helped me get dressed. Doctor Mom." She sniggered. Suvi blushed at the unbidden images her brain provided to accompany that statement. "Then Drack made me breakfast." She sipped happily at her coffee, inhaling the heavily caffeinated steam gratefully.

"I think you might be high…" Suvi told her.

"I'm _tall_ , not high." That was a lie. She was definitely tall _er_ than Suvi but not tall.

"Should I call Lexi…?" Kallo asked Suvi in a loud whisper. She shook her head slowly, watching Sara as she now stared through the window outside the Tempest at the bright ripples and streaks of FTL travel.

"Oh, no. I'm sure Lexi wouldn't have let her go if she wasn't ready," Suvi whispered back. Kallo eyed Sara suspiciously, clearly not believing she had been 'let' go. Sara turned her attention back to Suvi with a smile.

"I like you," she announced suddenly, blue eyes on Suvi. Both Suvi and Kallo seemed taken aback by the bluntness of the statement. "I'm really glad you joined the crew."

"Oh…" Suvi said, feeling her cheeks colour once again and dearly wishing Sara would stop making her blush… "Um. Thanks. I'm glad I joined the crew too. New galaxy and everything."

"No…" Sara said slowly. "I mean, I think you're cute and I like seeing you up here," she gestured to their surroundings as Suvi gaped at her in surprise, having never expected such a sentence to be aimed at her from Sara. She had no idea how to respond, but thankfully Sara turned her attention elsewhere.

"You too," she pointed to Kallo as she noticed him staring at her, "but Suvi's way hotter than you."

"Ohmygoodness!" Suvi squeaked. Where the hell was this coming from?! "Ryder!" Lexi had dosed her up good.

"And the accent," Sara grinned at Suvi. "I love your accent." Suvi didn't think her face could grow any redder or hotter but it seemed to be doing its best to prove her wrong. "Heh…" Sara frowned suddenly into her coffee cup, as though finally realising what she was saying. The fog in her brain was clearing and she felt more steady on her feet. She became very aware of the fact that both Suvi and Kallo were staring at her in stunned silence. "So. I should, um… I'm just gonna…go." She lifted her mug in a farewell gesture while backing away before turning and hurrying back through the door and into the depths of the Tempest to hide. Suvi stayed gawping after her long after the doors had sealed, mouth hanging slightly open.

"Kill. Me. Now." Kallo muttered, scowling out of the window ahead of himself. Suvi turned her head to look at him, eyes wide, and finally remembered to close her mouth.

"Did that just happen?"

"I wish it hadn't," he said.

* * *

"And so, the hero of the hour approaches! We are not worthy!" Liam dropped to his knees and bowed his head as Sara entered the cargo bay, arms reaching out to her in praise.

"It's good to see you, Ryder," Jaal said, inclining his head towards her. Sara blinked.

"Wow…How long was I out?" She asked. The crew seemed to have missed her.

"Only like…Twelve hours?" Peebee said, hopping up onto the workbench Cora had just spread her tools across and swinging her legs idly. Cora glowered at her. Peebee pretended not to notice. "But, you know. The menfolk can't cope without you, so…" she shrugged. "I'm glad you're not dead."

"Um. Thanks. Me too," Sara told her, reaching out a hand and helping Liam back to his feet. She staggered slightly from the motion and leaned against the workbench Peebee sat on for support.

"Man, Lexi drugged you up good. Your eyes are all weird," Liam said, shifting from side to side in front of her and watching her eyes try to track his movement.

"Ugh, please don't," Sara moaned, closing her eyes and covering her face with one hand, "I'm seriously gonna kill Lexi."

"Why?" Cora frowned at her, wiping oily hands on a stained cloth. "Didn't she do a good enough job of patching you up?"

"Oh, no, she did a great job. I assume," she hoped that was true. "Just…You know when you just want the ground to open up and swallow you whole?" She asked, glancing up at Cora, who merely raised one quizzical eyebrow.

"This is great. You're slurring so much."

"Liam, stop filming," Sara said without even having to look.

"Oh, come on. Human Pathfinder off her face on drugs?" Liam sniggered. "What did Lexi give you? Think I can have some?" He turned off the camera on his omni-tool.

"I hate you all and I'm going to bed," Sara told them, turning to leave. Jaal darted after her.

"Ryder, wait," he said. She paused so he could catch up, then started walking away again with Jaal following in step beside her. "I just wanted to say, thank you. For taking the blast for me." He cleared his throat, whether out of awkwardness of a simple need to clear his throat, Sara had no idea. She was still figuring out the finer points of angaran social cues. "That was incredibly courageous and I… Thank you. I appreciate it."

"You'd have done the same for me," she gave him a sloped smile.

Jaal laid one grateful hand on her shoulder and squeezed gently. "Yes. Now rest well. We need you in fighting spirit," he said. Sara clapped his shoulder once, then pulled away and entered her quarters. The door slid shut behind her and she palmed the button on the wall beside it, moving across the room as she heard the locks engage. She dumped her mug of now tepid coffee on her bedside table and face-planted the bed, groaning into the covers in dismay.

The embarrassment just grew worse the more her medicine cocktail wore off.

She wondered if she would be able to face Suvi Anwar ever again.


	5. Chapter 5

**A/N: Early update because I have no time tomorrow! I volunteered to do a 12 hour shift because I am a crazy fool XD**

 **Anyhoo, I wanted to write something light hearted ahead of the next chapter, so…. :P**

* * *

Sloane Kelly was a woman who didn't take no for an answer. If she wanted something she got it. End of story. She had taken a raw deal when forced to leave the Nexus and had turned it into something that worked for her and as a result Kadara Port, that hive of distasteful exiles, pirates and mercenaries, belonged to her. Sort of. It was a tenuous grip at best, thanks to the bitter turf war between her and the Charlatan and their respective followers. Sloane also had a serious attitude problem which meant when Reyes Vidal suggested Sara accompany him to Sloane's party at the Outcast headquarters she jumped at the chance. The woman was hardcore with a short fuse meaning winding up Sloane had become a favourite pastime of late. The handful of meetings they had experienced had been entertaining to say the least, with Sara pushing the boundaries further each time. Sloane hadn't shot her. Yet.

Besides, Sara thought Sloane might secretly like her. Very, _very_ secretly.

Surely the lack of invite was a mere oversight…

Unfortunately, Reyes abandoned her almost the second they arrived to…do whatever it was that Reyes did. Probably something highly illegal that Sara would need to pretend she knew nothing about. That wouldn't be hard considering he hadn't told her a thing.

Loud music thumped over speakers placed around the room and party goers stood in clusters around tables or danced in the space cleared in the middle of the room, clutching bottles and glasses of alcohol. Everyone seemed to know each other and Sara felt briefly lost as she stood surveying the scene before her.

"Crashing parties now, Ryder?" The voice came from behind her, low and gravelly with the strange double tonal quality of a turian. She twisted round and smiled casually as her eyes fell on the one that had spoken and she recognised Kaetus standing guard by the entrance in full armour. The message was clear to the guests. Play well and no one gets hurt.

She spread her arms wide as she approached him, unperturbed by the presence of weapons and armour.

"What can I say?" She asked good-humouredly. "Free food and beer are just so hard to come by in Heleus."

Kaetus didn't so much as crack even a hint of a smile. Instead he fixed her with a stern gaze, already silently counting the ways this would somehow be his fault.

"Aha. Just keep a low profile. Sloane's already gonna give me hell."

"I'll be on my best behaviour," Sara promised him. Kaetus grunted, clearly not believing that for a second. Sara grinned at him and, as Reyes didn't seem inclined to check on her, sauntered over to where Sloane lounged on that stupid chair of hers like it was a throne. She could almost feel Kaetus glaring holes into her back.

Sloane rolled her eyes as she saw Sara walking towards her.

"Pathfinder. What an unexpected surprise," she remarked drily, tipping her head towards Sara. Couldn't even throw a party for her people without the Nexus sticking their collective noses in.

"Sloane!" Sara greeted her cheerfully, as though surprised to see her. "I'm hurt I got no invite! I thought we were friends."

Sloane snorted derisively in response. "Glad we cleared up _that_ misunderstanding."

"Shots later?" Sara asked, flashing her most winning smile and shooting finger guns at her. Sloane glared at her.

"No," she replied in such a way that Sara knew any more antagonising would get her thrown out. Or shot. Or maybe both.

"Okay!" She said brightly, as if Sloane hadn't just shot her down. "Been nice talking to you. Catcha later!" She hurried away into the crowd before Sloane could decide what to do with her, scanning the unfamiliar faces for Reyes. Where the hell was he? She had clearly only been invited along as a distraction for him to conduct illicit business. She should have known. Wasn't entirely sure how she felt about that. Oh well. She could always give him Hell about it later.

"Hey, Ryder."

Sara barely heard the shout over the music. She glanced towards it to see the asari bartender Umi Henon waving her over across the room. Wondering what it was she was supposed to have done this time, Sara reluctantly complied. "Hey, Umi…" She greeted cautiously. She had paid her tabs and hadn't started any bar fights recently...

"Wanna be a test subject?" Umi asked eagerly, already placing a beaker on the makeshift bar top. Sara blinked at her. That wasn't a proposition she heard often. Or…Ever.

"Um…"

"I've made a new drink. Angaran wine mixed with ryncol. Need a human to try it out on." She made the drink as she spoke, as though already knowing Sara's answer.

"Oh…" Sara said, watching her curiously. "Is it safe?" Umi gave her a sly look.

"Maybe…" She said vaguely. Sara gave her a devilish grin and took the beaker.

"If I die, Lexi will kill you," she warned, and knocked back the drink.

Thankfully Sara didn't die. She did however find herself almost immediately blind drunk and in the mood for partying. Solo.

She danced like a loon on a table top until someone managed to coax her down, and resorted to raving by herself in the middle of the room until she exhausted herself and needed to sit down. She set her sights on one chair in particular that was unfortunately currently in use. Sara prowled around until Sloane finally vacated her throne. Checking no one was looking Sara darted up the steps onto the dais and dropped onto the chair with a smug grin.

"I'm Sloane and I'm a massive jerk!" She said to the air, her words swallowed by the loud music and the shouting of people trying to hold a conversation in the din. "Do what I say or I'll cut off your head and stick it on a spike!" She sniggered, leaning back in the chair. It was pretty comfy, actually, though didn't do much to stop the feeling of dizziness brought on by the alcohol. Not that Sara minded as that was all part of the fun.

She swung her legs up onto the chair and lounged sideways with her feet hanging over one arm, leaning back until her head was tipped over the side. She grinned when a dark shape swept into view and she found herself staring upside down into the thunderous face of Sloane.

"Get out of my chair _now_." Sloane ordered her dangerously.

"Your face looks funny like this!" Sara giggled. Sloane blinked once, then gave a barely perceptible twitch of the head. Whoever it had been aimed at had clearly been waiting for just such a non-verbal command, as they darted forward from seemingly no where and hauled Sara from the chair. Sara tipped her head to look up at the armoured asari holding her up. "'m sorry, this is a bit forward. I don't even know your name," she slurred, barely able to stand on legs that felt like rubber. The asari gave her a withering look before turning her gaze on Sloane.

"Get her out of here," Sloane spat, throwing herself into her chair and looking away as though Sara had been taken away already.

The asari dragged her through the crowd, ignoring Sara's ramblings as she headed for the door. Kaetus sighed as he saw them approaching.

"Best behaviour, huh?" He asked as he worked the door controls to let them out. Sara was dumped unceremoniously on the floor outside and left to her own devices.

Reyes found her slumped against the wall in the same position she had been left in about thirty minutes later and blinked at her drunken state.

"What happened to you?!" He asked in surprise.

"Umi," Sara answered vaguely. Reyes chuckled and nodded, reaching down to help her to her feet. "You abandoned me." Sara thumped a hand against his chest as he pulled her arm around his shoulders. Reyes winced as, even while wasted, the half-made fist had a surprising strength behind it.

"I did," Reyes admitted, leading her back through Kadara towards the Tempest. Sara's unusual demeanour barely registered with the locals, who were used to seeing much worse. "But for a good reason."

"You used me as a distraction," Sara sulked, jutting out her lower lip in a pout.

"Yes. And it worked," he grinned at her. "I found the only bottle of Mount Milgrom in Andromeda. Triple-distilled and 645 years old."

Sara wrinkled her nose in dismay.

"You used me as a distraction for _whiskey_?!" She complained. Reyes looked scandalised.

"It's not just whiskey-it's treasure," he replied. Sara looked unconvinced. "I'd offer to share, but…"

"But you're a greedy bastard?"

"Ouch…"

"It's fine. I recognise that I may be slightly drink," Sara said. "…Drunk," she corrected after a confused pause from the look Reyes gave her.

"Just a little," he agreed, pausing at the Tempest's landing bay. "Here's your ship. Think you can make it on board?"

Sara shot him a look filled with drunken scorn.

"I know my own ship," she told him, starting haughtily for the Tempest. She tripped over her own feet, staggered upright, and kept going as though nothing had happened, head held high.

Reyes shook his head in disbelief and left to venture back into the port.

* * *

Sara somehow made it to her quarters without further mishap, where she slept off the alcohol and awoke the following day with the galaxy's worst hangover.

She stumbled into the medbay and flopped face down onto an examining table with a low groan.

"I'm never drinking alcohol ever again," she whimpered, able to feel her pulse throbbing painfully in her temples as her stomach heaved unpleasantly. Her mouth tasted disgustingly acidic and her eyes felt sore and gritty.

"I'm pretty sure you said that last time," Lexi told her, stood with her back to the Pathfinder and arms crossed over her chest as she studied data displayed on the wall-mounted screen by her desk.

"This time for sure." Sara slid from the table onto the floor and sat with her back against the table legs. Even that small movement made her stomach roil unpleasantly. "I think I'm dying."

"We went through this last time too," Lexi told her, still looking over her data, cupping an elbow while rubbing her thumb thoughtfully over her lower lip.

"Why do you make me suffer so?" Sara whined piteously. "Give me the magic potion!" Lexi sighed and turned to face her, eyebrows raised. Sara pouted up at her. "Umi made me a horrible drink. Wine and ryncol or something…"

"You should have known not to drink that," Lexi told her, crossing the room to start mixing up the drink to settle Sara's stomach for her. "Don't put anything krogan in your mouth unless you're a krogan. That's the best advice anyone could give you."

"Yes ma'am," Sara muttered, using the table to haul herself to her feet.

"This is the last time I'm making you this," Lexi said, holding out the cup of fizzing liquid to Sara who drained it without questions this time.

"Sorry. Won't happen again," Sara said tightly, pausing and looking at the floor worriedly.

"If you're going to be sick-"

"I'm good." Sara swallowed hard, willing her stomach to cease its roiling. Once the urge to throw up went away she gave Lexi a weak thumbs up. "I'll be a good pathfinder from now on."

The speakers linked throughout the ship crackled to life.

 _"Ryder, could you come by the bridge when you're ready?"_ Suvi's voice asked. Sara bit back a groan.

"Oh crap…" She muttered and saw Lexi's brow crease in surprise. Sara shook her head as she saw the asari open her mouth to question the strange reaction. "It's nothing," Sara said, handing back the empty cup and heading out of the medbay before Lexi could start interrogating her.

It _was_ something though. Ever since her outburst courtesy of super strength painkillers Sara had been avoiding Suvi as best she could. Due to embarrassment and…well. That outpouring of drug-induced honesty had forced her to ask herself some very difficult questions. Namely did she have feelings for Suvi Anwar? Answer: Yes. Was it more than a sexual attraction? Answer: No clue. Sara wasn't really the sort to form emotional attachments. One night stands and casual sex were so much easier to deal with. They didn't have all those messy feelings getting in the way. Suvi made her feel confused. That adorable soft Scottish accent and infectious enthusiasm for all things science. The cute smile and flaming locks. Those brilliant turquoise eyes that she could happily drown-

"Ryder, there you are," that same accent interrupted her thoughts.

Sara blinked to find herself staring across the bridge into those familiar bright eyes, now both curious and concerned.

"Uh…" Her feet had carried her to the door that had automatically opened for her. "Yes. Here I am," she said, striding forwards and carefully looking anywhere but Suvi. "What did you need?" Sharp, but she couldn't help it! Suvi was fast becoming complicated and Sara didn't like complicated. She made the mistake of glancing at the redhead, saw the flash of hurt at being on the receiving end of Sara's attitude. Great. Now she felt guilty.

She sighed and passed a hand over her face, squeezing her eyes shut tight and pinching the bridge of her nose between thumb and forefinger. "Sorry, Suvi. Rough night. Rougher awakening."

"Ah, yes…I heard about that." She opened her eyes to see Suvi giving her an impish smile. Reyes had happily regaled them with the second-hand account from Kaetus of Sara's drunken antics earlier that morning.

"Moving on!" Sara said quickly, clapping her hands together. "I'm sure you didn't call me here for my dazzling good looks?"

"Well, it certainly wasn't for _my_ dazzling good looks," Kallo said pointedly without looking up from his console.

"Huh?" Sara looked sideways at him. And immediately felt her cheeks flame. Right. She had told them Suvi looked way hotter than Kallo… She should have known better than to trust him to let her live that one down. Suvi had kindly not brought up the incident at all. "Um…You're cute too, Kallo."

"Yes, I am." Kallo gave her his most innocent smile, though the mischief in his black eyes ruined the effect. Sara was fairly certain he was enjoying watching her squirm.

"Um, a-anyway," Suvi stammered, equally eager to move the conversation on.

Turning her gaze to the redhead Sara saw she too was blushing and trying to hide it by fiddling with the controls in front of her. "We received a message from Elaaden. They need you to look into something outside the outpost."

"Is there a problem?" Sara asked, suddenly all business.

"I don't know. The details were vague…" Suvi said apologetically. Sara chewed thoughtfully on her lower lip, resting her elbow in one hand as the other moved up to subconsciously brush a finger against the scar marking her cheek. It could be nothing. She seemed to be continuously receiving messages calling her in to check on all sorts of things that really didn't require a Pathfinder to fix.

Then again, it could also be something. And she would never forgive herself if something happened to her people that she could have prevented.

Finally, she nodded. "Okay. Set course for Elaaden. Maybe once we're done there Gil will be finished fixing that kett transponder…"


	6. Chapter 6

**We have great chunks of in-game dialogue and happenings in this one. Hope I kept it interesting for ya! :P**

* * *

Gil Brodie was a genius. Maybe. He had fixed the kett transponder, which resulted in an overly dramatic moment of 'oh shit!' when it linked directly to the Archon's flagship and was hastily switched off by a pannicked Sara. However, it had given SAM enough time to lock onto the coordinates in the Tafeno system. On arriving at that location they were shocked to discover the salarian ark Paarchero. Or rather, the kett discovered Paarchero first and then the Tempest found the kett. Mission parameters shifted and Sara boarded Paarchero with Jaal and Peebee determined to save the ark and its inhabitants _and_ locate the Archon's Meridian relic. It had been going well. They had found the salarian pathfinder Zevin Raeka and woken her from cryo stasis. Raeka was more than happy to aid in their plans to rescue the ark, waking more of the sleeping salarians to have the ark flight ready to go on Sara's command.

SAM had just found the location of the Archon's private chambers by hacking into a console when Pathfinder Raeka and a group of newly-awoken salarians joined them. Sara blinked in surprise.

"I thought you were on the ark?"

"Too many of our people are missing," Raeka said, shaking her head. She couldn't leave them.

"If we don't find them now,"a second salarian spoke up, voice rougher than Raeka's, "we never will."

"This is Hayjer, captain of our ark," Raeka explained before Sara could ask. "We'll focus on the rescue while you push ahead, Ryder."

Sara had a bad feeling about it but couldn't deny them the chance to rescue more of their people. If the tables were turned, and it were her preparing Hyperion for a speedy getaway while her own people were missing, she would never be able to go through with it.

"Okay," she said. "We'll help you get on your way."

"But I'm a history teacher, I don't know how to fight," another salarian protested. Sara exchanged a look with Peebee and Jaal, already regretting her decision as they made their way over to a console to override the door controls for the salarians.

"I'm sorry we can't help you," Sara said genuinely as the doors slid open and the salarians started forwards, "but we have our own mission."

Raeka offered a wry smile, knowing the odds weren't stacked particularly favourably. "Good luck, Pathfinder."

Sara nodded. "You too, Pathfinder."

They watched the salarians disappear further into the ship, then turned away to head in the direction SAM had pointed them in.

"Okay, let's do this."

* * *

Sara ducked down quickly behind several crates as the burning rounds of a plasma mini gun sparked off the metal railing of the walkway she had been charging up.

"Ryder, behind you!" Peebee shouted from somewhere nearby. Sara twisted around in her cover in time to see a kett charging her, shotgun aimed at her chest. She quickly activated her omni-blade but before she could even think about dodging and striking, the kett was slammed sideways over the railing by a wall of rippling purple energy.

"Thanks, Peebee!" She called out, and faced the anointed that was steadily shredding her cover to fire off several rounds from her sniper at him. He staggered under the repeated impact and finally went down with a bullet in his brain when his shields gave. She pushed forwards, heading for the door across the room. It was sealed, but SAM could break through. She was forced back into cover as more kett began to fire on her position.

"Things are getting kinda hairy here…" She commented.

"What does that mean?" Jaal asked, popping out of cover to take out a kett sniping at him.

"It means we're screwed," Peebee said, sprinting for Sara while keeping low. She pressed her shoulders to the metal panelling beside the Pathfinder and exchanged a look with her. Sara didn't reply.

 _"Ryder!"_ Raeka called out to them over comms from above. _"We're here! We've got your back!"_

Sara gave Peebee a devilish grin.

"Screwed?" She asked. "Raeka, you have impeccable timing!"

Already the salarians were forcing the kett to seek cover giving Sara, Jaal and Peebee the opportunity to press forwards and take them out. The salarians kept the kett pinned as long as they could until they were pushed to retreat after sustaining casualties.

"Go! We can take it from here," Sara told Raeka, dropping an anointed with several well-timed shots. The salarians pulled out of the fight. It didn't take long for the rest of the kett to be dealt with.

" _I have located a new path to the Archon's chamber_ ," SAM informed them once the room was clear.

"Okay, let's move," Sara said, "the whole ship's probably looking for us."

* * *

The Tempest team's progress through the ship was brought to a grinding halt when she found herself trapped in some kind of immobilising field with Jaal and Cora, suspended from the floor and unable to move. The Archon appeared before them to gloat and Sara was her usual charming self, unwisely aggravating her captor. He jabbed a syringe into the back of her neck, injecting her with some unknown substance before leaving them, still trapped to attend to his salarian problem. He had put a biological transmitter in her, SAM informed them. As if that wasn't enough cause for alarm, Sara and SAM came up with the worst plan ever in the history of worst plans.

 _"So…If you shut down my life signs-if you…kill me…-the field holding us will disappear?"_

Sometimes Suvi hated being able to hear what was going on down there with the ground crew. This was definitely one of those times. She shared an alarmed look with Kallo, unable to believe the words she was hearing. To his credit the salarian was doing a fantastic job at keeping his face neutral.

 _"The one holding you, yes."_ Came SAM's strangely soothing voice, at odds with his words. _"Then I would attempt to resuscitate."_

"Oh my God…" Suvi breathed, bringing her hands up to cover her mouth in shock.

"Suvi, perhaps you should inform Doctor T'Perro?" Kallo suggested calmly. An attempt to get Suvi off the bridge, away from the broadcast. But Suvi couldn't leave. Even if she had wanted to, she was sure her legs would give out from beneath her. SAM was going to kill Sara. _Kill_ her. Sara Ryder would be _dead_. SAM was going to switch her off like a…like a machine. He could do that? He had the power to do that? And he was going to attempt to resuscitate her. _Attempt_. What did he mean by that?! That it might not work?

 _"All right."_ She could hear the fear in Sara's voice at the statement that she attempted to hide with false bravado, felt her pulse jackhammer in her throat in response. _"Let's do it."_ No. No! Nononono. Let's _not_ do it!

 _"Stopping your heart…Now."_ Silence. The most terrifying silence she had ever been forced to endure. It stretched on endlessly. Suvi's breath came short and sharp. Her heart thudded almost painfully against her ribs.

Nothing.

 _"SAM…?"_ Cora's warning tone, edged with uncertainty. Suvi's hands felt freezing cold. They trembled as she tightly gripped the arms of her chair, fingers digging into the padding hard enough for her nails to leave half crescents in the heavy duty covering, knuckles white with tension. Her breath caught in her throat. She felt sick.

 _"Stimulating the cardiovascular core. …Zero activity."_ Fear closed its icy fist around her heart and squeezed tight. Kallo was saying something to her but she couldn't hear. She was focussed solely on the audio coming through from the Archon's flagship, barely heard over the roaring in her ears.

 _"Stimulating the cardiovascular core…"_

Gasping, breathing hard, she heard Sara come back choking for breath. A pause as she got her bearings.

 _"That's twice now I've come back from the dead. Can't say the experience is improving."_ Her voice was light, playful. At odds with what had just happened.

"-vi, _breathe_ ," Kallo ordered again, rising out of his seat and taking a half step towards her. Suvi stared at him and released the breath she hadn't realised she had been holding. She took in a deep, shuddering breath, brought shaking hands to her face, didn't know what to do with them.

"S-sorry, I…" She still felt numb. Her hands dropped uselessly into her lap.

"I know," Kallo said gently, sinking back into his seat. He understood. "If you need a moment…?"

"No." Suvi shook her head, swallowed hard. "No, I'll… I'll be fine. Thank you."

 _"You two look comfortable."_ Sara's teasing tone.

Suvi took another breath, trying to regain her composure. She needed to look calm, professional. Like Kallo.

 _"So did you while you were playing dead."_ Her stomach lurched at Cora's repartee. Maybe she would try professional later…

* * *

Unsurprisingly Lexi had been totally unimpressed by SAM killing the Pathfinder. SAM chose 'does not approve' to describe the asari doctor's mood when Sara faced her after the (very successful) mission. That was putting it mildly. Sara would have gone for 'livid'.

"By stopping the Pathfinder's heart? No! I do not approve!" Lexi replied sharply to SAM's comment.

"Relax, doc!" Sara smiled and shrugged at Lexi. "It turned out okay." Lexi stared at her for a good few seconds, causing her to shift uncomfortably, before finally finding the words to speak.

" _Dying_ -even temporarily-is _never_ 'okay'." She raised a hand, massaging her temples with thumb and forefinger briefly before dropping her hand again to watch Sara. How to get through to her…? "Ryder, SAM _killed_ you. Yes, he brought you back. But what if he didn't?"

" _I cannot learn without the Pathfinder_ ," SAM said simply, soft robotic voice floating from the speakers mounted in the ceiling of the medbay. " _That would be akin to killing part of myself_."

"You're lines of code. You can't die," Lexi shot back angrily, glaring up at the ceiling as though SAM was physically there and could see her. Maybe he could.

"I trust SAM. He wouldn't hurt me," Sara told her. The naivety was astounding.

"Look, I'm not against SAM," Lexi said, then turned her gaze back to the ceiling and raised her voice for the benefit of the AI, "I'm not against you SAM." She looked back to Sara. "But my job's hard enough without an AI stopping your heart. Even to save your life." Sara regarded her seriously, and Lexi knew she understood and had taken the asari's concerns on board. Then that mischievous smile quirked her lips.

"All right," she said, rolling her eyes. "I'll find a new party trick." Wouldn't be Sara if she didn't inject humour in there somewhere.

"Thank you, Ryder," Lexi said. "Suvi wanted to talk to you. She's waiting in the meeting room." Sara nodded and hurried out of the medbay. As the door slid shut behind her she overheard SAM apologising to Lexi and smiled fondly. He was definitely more than lines of code.

She climbed the ladder outside the medbay to the above deck and made her way to meet Suvi, who turned away from the vidcon to face her as she heard footsteps walking up the ramp behind her.

"Sara!" The Scot greeted her, relief flooding her face. Sara arched one eyebrow in amusement, more used to being called 'Ryder' by her crew.

"Hi," She said. Suvi looked down at the datapad she was holding and pretending to look over the information displayed there, embarrassed by her outburst. "Lexi said you wanted to talk."

"Yes. Um." Suvi held out the data pad, looking up at her again. "It's…You won't like it."

"Hit me," Sara said confidently, taking the datapad and glancing over it. Various charts and readings. She wasn't entirely sure what they meant.

"Well…The Archon… He…Saw your memory flashes through your SAM implant." Suvi stumbled awkwardly over her words. In truth Sara didn't really _need_ to know that. It couldn't hurt to keep that between Lexi and herself. But Suvi had decided it would be smart to share all the information she discovered with the Pathfinder. She raised her eyes from the datapad in Sara's hands to find the Pathfinder staring at her in alarm.

"The Archon saw my memories?!" She repeated, horrified. "He can do that?" Sara felt her entire body go cold, her skin crawl.

"His device went deep," Suvi explained. "Our connections were wide open when SAM…Killed you." Her voice faltered and she swallowed hard, still struggling with the idea that the AI had stopped Sara's heart. _I heard you die…_

Sara turned her gaze back to the datapad, clearly rattled. Suvi was unused to seeing fear on Sara's face. She had seen a whole spectrum of emotions play over the Pathfinder's features in their time together. Never fear. It was unnerving.

"Ryder?" She prompted, expecting some sort of reply. Maybe a carefree 'oh well' or a joking 'Oh God, he saw _that_?'. Instead Sara continued to stare down at the information in front of her, brow creased as her free hand reached for the scar by her right eye without thinking. "Sara…?" Suvi ventured gently, surprised by the sudden vulnerability. "Sara, if you need to talk…?" Sara's head snapped up.

"No." And then it was gone. Sara's expression became closed off, distant even. "I'm fine." Suvi was shocked at the sudden change. "Will that be all, Doctor Anwar?" Sara asked, standing tall. The title change was not lost on Suvi. Sara was demanding business not friendship. Suvi bit back a sigh and took her datapad back from her.

"Yes…Pathfinder," she muttered, keeping her eyes downcast. Sara's boots thudded loudly against the floor as she retreated, heading for her quarters.

* * *

The glowing red light in the centre of the door to the Pathfinder quarters was all the crew of the Tempest needed to know. Sara wanted to be left alone. To process or…something. And so they celebrated their achievements without her.

The rescued krogan scouts were on their way home. The salarian ark would be docking with the Nexus. The loss of Raeka brought about the rise of Hayjer as the new salarian Pathfinder, meaning a total of four Pathfinders now. A great success.

But still. Sara couldn't sleep.

The door hissed open and she stepped out into the dimly lit hallway, socks whispering softly against the metal floor panels. The Tempest was silent as the crew slept. The lights in the corridors were turned low enough to not disturb sleepers, but bright enough to keep the ship illuminated for the night owls. Sara stuffed her hands into the front pocket of her hoodie and began to wander. It wasn't long before her feet carried her up to the meeting room to the unobstructed view of space afforded by the surrounding windows. The room was lit softly by the glow of active consoles and the lights from the deck below.

She froze in surprise at the top of the ramp when she saw she wasn't the only one there. Suvi was curled up on one of the benches with her datapad resting on her lap, illuminating her face in a bright white glow. She looked up sharply when she heard movement, gasping softly.

"Oh, Ryder! You frightened me," she said, hand pressed over her racing heart.

"I didn't expect to see anyone," Sara replied, just as bewildered.

"I wanted to read," Suvi needlessly lifted her datapad up for Sara to see, "but I didn't want the light to keep the others up." Sara was the only one with her own sleeping quarters. Officially. The rest of the crew had rooms to share but seemed to have decided to claim various other spaces in the Tempest for themselves, though some still used the shared bunks. "You couldn't sleep either?"

Sara's gaze dropped to the floor before she turned her back to Suvi and stood staring out the wide windows into open space, saying nothing. They were drifting currently, surrounded by the inky vastness of Andromeda. Stars and planets glowed bright in the distance, tiny diamonds scattered across black velvet, and the ever-present Scourge burned a pathway throughout it all.

Suvi narrowed her eyes and waited a moment to make sure she really _was_ being brushed off, then uncurled her legs from beneath herself and stood, tucked her datapad under her arm and made to leave. She was halted in her tracks as Sara began to talk.

"He was, uh…" She hesitated. Suvi realised Sara was just gathering her thoughts. The Pathfinder was struggling, though. Even from across the space between them Suvi could see the tension in her shoulders, her fists clenching and unclenching at her sides. "He was in my head." She turned to Suvi, looking vulnerable once more, and Suvi felt her heart break at Sara's expression. "The Archon."

She threw her datapad down onto the bench she had just vacated and crossed to stand in front of Sara, reaching out tentatively to brush the tips of her fingers against Sara's forearm. When Sara didn't pull away from the contact Suvi squeezed her arm gently and searched for something comforting to say.

"What does that mean, Suvi?"

"I don't know. Maybe nothing," Suvi replied quietly.

"But maybe something?" Sara stared through her bangs at the shorter woman, brows creased in agitation.

"Maybe," Suvi admitted, realising she was doing a useless job of soothing her. Sara still looked unsettled. Unsurprisingly.

"I can't sleep. I just keep thinking about it." Sara reached back and rubbed at the tiny wound in the back of her neck, where the Archon had jabbed her with his stupid needle. She scowled, furious that he had had such an effect on her. Suvi took her hand and pulled it away from the wound, squeezing her fingers softly.

"Would you like me to sit with you?" She offered. "To help you sleep. It might be helpful to have someone else there." _Oh my God, why did I say that?! You absolute-_

"Sure." Sara broke into her thoughts. She smiled crookedly. Suvi tried to ignore the way that smile made her heart flutter. She usually had the Tempest controls in front of her as a distraction when that happened. But not right now. Right now, she had Sara's undivided and nowhere to look but those bright blue eyes.

"Okay." She hadn't expected to be taken up on the offer. "Let me just grab my datapad." She reluctantly let go of Sara's hand and went back over to the bench.

"And, um. Thanks, Suvi," Sara said awkwardly. She looked away as Suvi glanced up at her in confusion, shuffled her feet awkwardly. "For listening."

"Oh, that's all right," Suvi said, returning to her side, datapad in hand, as they began heading down towards Sara's room. "And thank you." Now it was Sara's turn to look confused. "For opening up. Trusting me." Sara gave a soft snort of laughter.

"No problem," She replied. Suvi could see her combatting the unease she felt, wanting to push the redhead away while simultaneously seeking comfort.

Sara expertly slid down the ladder to the lower deck while Suvi embarrassed herself with the much less glamourous approach of actually climbing down it one rung at a time. She made the mistake of looking at Sara as she reached the bottom to find the Pathfinder grinning at her.

"Shut up or I won't sleep with you," Suvi said.

Sara sniggered. "Oh, wow. Put it like that and the crew will talk for days!" She said.

"Like with you and Peebee in the escape pod?" Suvi challenged, and congratulated herself on masking the jealousy in her voice with an attempt at banter. Sara's eyebrows shot up.

"You know about that?" She asked. And why did it matter so much if she did? She frowned to herself, walking into her room as the door quietly opened automatically for them.

"Everyone knows," Suvi said, following her in and waiting beside the door as Sara hit the manual lock controls on the wall. "Peebee can be…well, crass. And Kallo and myself sort of…overheard all the banging from the escape pod…"

"You have _got_ to rephrase that," Sara shot her a wide grin while making her way over to the bed. She jumped into the middle, rolled onto her back and propped herself up on her elbows to look expectantly at Suvi, who blushed furiously and followed her over.

"Sara, no! That's not what I-! I meant-"

"I know what you meant." Sara grinned at her. They _had_ been pretty noisy, bouncing off the walls courtesy of zero gravity and the…energy of their activities. Sara had wound up with a nasty bruise on the back of her head after crashing into the locked door…

Suvi sat nervously next to her, silently willing her hot cheeks to cool down. Just as she thought she had herself under control Sara pulled her down to lie beside her and the blushing came back in force. _Oh Lord, I'm in Sara's bed-_ _ **On**_ _! On Sara's bed and she's here...I did not think this through…don't embarrass yourself…_

"A-anyway." Suvi cleared her throat, composing herself. She clutched her datapad with both hands like a lifeline. "You're meant to be sleeping. All this talking won't help." Sara shifted closer and lay her head on Suvi's shoulder, already feeling comforted by the solid presence of another beside her. _She's snuggling me…Sara is snuggling me and we're on her bed…_

"It will," Sara said, voice matter of fact. "Read to me."

Suvi paused and glanced down at her datapad. "You want me to read you an astrophysics journal?" She asked in disbelief.

"I like your voice," Sara mumbled, sounding almost shy. Suvi looked down at her in surprise and met soft blue eyes, unusually sincere. Sara wasn't playing or winding her up. "Please? It's soothing."

Suvi wasn't sure what to say, touched by that little revelation. And then she remembered Sara announcing how much she enjoyed her Scottish accent.

"Okay, Sara," she said, hiding a grin. "Once-upon-a-time…"

Sara giggled and shoved her gently, causing Suvi to laugh with her. She cleared her throat again and started once more, reading from her datapad. Sara was asleep before she reached the end of the first page.

Suvi felt Sara's head drop against her chest and her breathing grow slower and deeper, one hand curled into the fabric of Suvi's uniform over her stomach.

"Lights out, SAM," she murmured. Not wanting to disturb Sara now that she was fast asleep curled up against her science officer. Suvi lay her head against the Pathfinder's and closed her eyes, drifting off peacefully with her.

* * *

 **A/N: Because cuddles are the best cure! :P**


	7. Chapter 7

**A/N: So, late update next week as I'm going on holiday. Keep an eye out and you should see something next Thursday**

* * *

As well as the incredible destructive power of the Scourge, Andromeda was home to many wonders. Sara had found that out pretty much as soon as she dropped out of the sky and crash landed on Habitat-7. Gravity-defying rock formations, bizarre plant life, impossible scenery and crazy weather fronts. And that was just one planet. Andromeda had it all. There was so much to see and study and experience. Planets to find. Life to discover. Sara loved it. The thrill of exploration, never knowing what she would find next. Even the horror of the kett and their vile experiments couldn't dampen her excitement.

The Tempest had landed at the Prodromos outpost to check in and Sara had almost immediately been roped into scanning the surrounding hills for 'threats' (read: kett) after several colonists mysteriously vanished days prior. Sara had taken the Nomad out with Jaal and Drack to scout the area around the settlement. Finding no immediate danger within the coordinates they had been given, they had widened the search area and come across signs of kett activity outside a well concealed cave entrance. They had only noticed the cave itself after stopping the Nomad and getting out to investigate the kett machinery left outside behind some rocks. Sunlight had glinted from the metal as the Nomad passed by and Sara had brought the vehicle round in a wide arc and screeched to a halt beside the towering cliff face.

As they climbed out they noticed a deep fissure in the rock that was plenty wide enough for kett to pass through, and just about wide enough for the bulky physique of a krogan.

Drack stood eyeing the shadowy opening as Sara activated the scanner on her omni-tool and passed it over the clunky shield generators.

"Still fully functional," she commented, watching the readings fed back to the computer panel on the holographic gauntlet. "And warm."

"It is hot," Jaal said, squinting up at the clear blue sky above them. Not even a single fluffy white cloud could be seen across the expanse of blue to provide even the tiniest piece of shade. The unobstructed warmth of the sun could have easily heated the metal casing of the generator.

"Warm as in I think it's only recently been switched off," Sara clarified, deactivating the scanner. "The circuitry is protected from the weather but shows signs of heat."

"I think I see lights in here," Drack called out to them, levelling his shotgun and stomping into the darkness without waiting for comment from the others. His pauldrons scraped noisily against the walls as he entered, but he didn't seem to notice. Or, if he noticed, he didn't care. Which seemed much more likely.

Jaal and Sara glanced at each other, Sara gesturing into the cave with a grin.

"After you," she said.

Jaal grunted, bringing his rifle into his hands. "So courteous," he said humorously, following Drack inside.

"I'm nothing if not courteous," Sara quipped, reaching back over her right shoulder for her heavily modded Black Widow sniper. It had unfolded itself before she even held it in both hands. "Stay alert, guys. Could be anything in here."

The air inside the cave was still and stuffy, seeming to suck in the heat from the desert outside and filling the long, low room with a mixture that was both thick and syrupy rather than refreshingly cool as the darkness might first suggest. The tight entrance let in barely any light, the shaft of sunlight arrowing through the darkness only a few feet, but Drack was right. After passing through several more feet of barely penetrable gloom, it grew lighter the further in they went until they came to a narrow tunnel lit at the far end by a free-standing strip lamp of kett design. Thick black cables snaked from the base out of sight around a corner, presumably hooked up to a generator further inside the cave system. Natural tunnels honeycombed out of sight, pitch black and empty. The sandy floor was disturbed by so many footprints it was impossible to tell which direction they headed.

"What do you think?" Drack asked, glancing down at Sara.

"I think it'd be a shame to come all this way and not kick some bony kett butt," she replied and moved ahead of her comrades, leading the way along the short corridor as she followed the cables. When they curved out of sight she paused to look around the corner, quickly ducking her head out and pulling back almost immediately, shoulders to the wall and holding up a fist to halt the progress of the others behind her. "Kett," she whispered.

"Already?" Drack asked, disappointed that the chase had ended so soon.

"Shhh!" Sara hissed.

"How many?" Jaal whispered back, taking the safety off his rifle.

"A few," Sara said quietly. "I saw ten. Maybe more in the back. There's a lot of rocks and kett junk, could be concealing some. I saw wraiths too."

"Easy," Drack growled in his rough approximation of a whisper. He shouldered Jaal and Sara out of the way. "Let me show you kids how it's done."

"Drack, maybe we should come up with a better plan than-"

With a roar Drack threw himself out into the open and charged forwards.

"Or not…" Sara rolled her eyes and rushed out into the open cavern, sprinting for the cover of a fallen boulder.

There were dozens more of the kett lamps dotted around the cavern, illuminating the craggy walls and casting deep shadows in the corners, hooked up to humming generators. Crates and trunks were stacked in groups everywhere, providing ample cover and concealment.

Showing a definite lack of concern that extra forces could be hidden by the 'kett junk' Drack barrelled forwards and had already begun wreaking havoc amongst the kett. Jaal took immediate advantage of that, firing his rifle as he ran for cover and downing a couple of the regular foot soldiers before diving headlong behind a haphazard pile of reinforced metal crates.

Sara braced her sniper against her shoulder and peered down the sights, scanning for the wraiths she had seen earlier. She spotted the tell-tale ripple against the rock wall on the far side of the cavern as the creature's skin blended near seamlessly with its surroundings. She squeezed the trigger and was rewarded by a high-powered bullet drilling its way through the wraith's bony head plates and into its brain, stopping it in its tracks.

"Grenade!" Jaal called a warning to Drack as he hurled the explosive towards the cover several Kett were clustered behind. Drack seized the second wraith in mid-air as it pounced for him and used it as a shield, unexpectedly turning towards Jaal's grenade as it detonated, killing one kett and driving the others out into the open. Drack threw the wraith at one as Sara popped off two headshots in quick succession.

"Annointed!" Sara called out, seeing it mere seconds before it levelled it plasma mini-gun at her. She ducked back behind her rock and covered her face with her arms, protecting the glass visor of her helmet, as the projectiles ripped into her cover, sending rock chips and dust flying in all directions. As it was preoccupied with Sara Drack bulled straight into it, knocking it to the ground. The Annointed struggled beneath the heavy krogan, trying to throw him off. Drack held it down with one hand, using the other to press the barrel of his shotgun against its face and pull the trigger.

"Clear!" He called even as the shotgun blast echoed still around the cavern. Sara stood up and took the moment to check their surroundings. The way they had come from was the only way in and out of this hiding place so they would get no surprise visitors from further within the tunnels. She could see no other kett in the vicinity.

"Looks like they were using this place for storage," Jaal said, picking through stacks of heavy duty crates.

"Not any more," Drack announced, back on his feet and holstering his shotgun. He dusted off his hands and made his way back over to Sara and Jaal, not minding what or who he trod on to get there.

It was as Sara was turning to look back the way they had come that she noticed the rock she had been using for cover. Where before it had been the same as dusty red as any other rock on Eos the Annointed's weapon had sheered off a part of it to reveal innards that gleamed shiny and metallic.

"Woah, what's this?" She asked, crouching beside the rubble. She picked up a fist-sized chunk, turning it this way and that to catch the bright artificial glow of the light standing behind her. Drack and Jaal approached curiously. Whatever it was had a metallic blue sheen under the light. It felt hard and rough, layered like unpolished lead. Only the repeated hammering of the weapon had broken through it.

"Some kind of mineral?" Jaal suggested as Sara stood up, eyeing the lump in her hand thoughtfully.

"Suvi would love this," she said suddenly.

"A rock?" Drack asked in confusion, looking at her as though she were mad.

"Well, she does love science," Jaal said fairly. "Here is something new to study." He gestured to the gleaming substance Sara held. "A thoughtful gift." Sara's eyes snapped up to meet his gaze and Jaal smiled knowingly. She frowned at him. Rumbled? Or just angaran mushy crap?

Suvi had been on her mind a lot lately, ever since waking up beside her after their late night talk following the Archon biological transmitter incident. Cuddled into the delightfully warm and comfortingly solid form of the science officer, breathing in the faintly floral scent of her skin (more likely the scent of her soap, Sara presumed, but whatever) had been wonderful to wake up to and there had been only a minor panic as Sara did a stealthy check to make sure she hadn't drooled in the night before giving a luxurious stretch and smiling up at the already-awake Suvi. Following that Sara had been finding more and more reasons to visit the bridge, altering her schedule so that her meal times aligned somewhat with Suvi's. It was…Pathetic, to say the least. But resistance was futile and Sara was stuck dealing with weird and unfamiliar feelings. Lust she could figure out. That was easy. Simple. This was…Not that. This was being happy just talking. Or, hell, even sitting in companionable silence so long as she was there. This was longing to see those ocean eyes bright with laughter after a joke. _Her_ joke. This was complicated and messy. Something she usually made a point of avoiding.

Sara sighed.

"Come on, let's get back."

She thought about tossing her shiny rock back down where she had found it and forgetting about it.

Didn't.

Suvi's smile would be worth the noisy thoughts.

* * *

Sara had stripped off her armour and jumped straight into the shower on arriving back at the Tempest. She then went back to her locker and checked her armour for damage and cleaned away the grit and grime picked up by traipsing around the desert and getting caught in a firefight, and only when she no longer had a legitimate excuse to put it off any more did she head to her room and collect the rock she had brought back with her.

She felt embarrassed. It was stupid. Suvi would laugh at her. She shook her head and sighed through her nose, knowing deep down that wasn't true and that she was searching for a reason to turn back and hide in her quarters. In the end, it was the thought of Peebee, or Liam, or someone else who loved to find reasons to tease her, discovering her hovering lamely outside the door to the bridge for no good reason that drove her forwards. The door panel slid open automatically, hissing faintly, and she stepped forwards, pausing in the middle of the control hub of the Tempest. Suvi and Kallo glanced back to see who their visitor was.

"Hi!" Sara said loudly, voice slightly higher than usual, as the door hissed shut again behind her. She saw them both look at each other ever so briefly and cursed silently. "I'm not high again," she promised them.

"Good," Kallo said, flicking and swiping at the controls in front of him. Sara saw the hint of a good-natured smile on his face.

"I, uh, just got back from scouting."

"I should hope you're back," Kallo said without missing a beat. "We're preparing for take-off."

"SAM told us when you boarded," Suvi explained kindly, humouring Sara's weird behaviour. She could see the Pathfinder shifting nervously from foot to foot, fiddling with something in her hoodie pocket.

"Of course he did," Sara muttered. "I actually came here to see you," she admitted, shifting closer to Suvi's chair. Suvi looked up at her in surprise.

"You did?" She asked. Sara nodded.

"I, um, I found this in the cave we cleared out." She brought her hand out of her pocket to show Suvi the new substance she had found, twisting it in her fingers to show Suvi the way it shimmered in the light. "SAM says it's not dangerous, it's a metal, a common one apparently, and, uh…Well, I thought you might like it." She rubbed the back of her neck awkwardly, eyes flicking away from Suvi's shyly. "You know. To, like…study, or something…I don't know. SAM can give you the composition. It's still too dangerous for you to go there yourself and besides we kinda didn't move the bodies so…" She fizzled out and looked hopefully at Suvi.

"Oh, Sara, that's so sweet!" Suvi's face lit up in a bright smile and she took the offered rock, turning it over in her hands carefully to examine it. "It's beautiful. Thank you." She beamed up at her. Sara returned the smile, pleased her gift had been so well received.

"Well?" Kallo demanded after a moment's silence. Sara turned her head to fix him with a baffled look.

"'Well' what?" She asked.

"Where's my present?" His large black eyes were unblinking, but Sara saw the quiver at one corner of his mouth as he tried not to smile. "Suvi gets one."

"Kallo!" Suvi scolded, frowning across the bridge at him.

"Favouritism." The salarian turned back to his station, hiding his grin. Sara gave a soft laugh, slipping both hands back into her hoodie pocket.

"I'll find you something next time," she promised, and returned her gaze to Suvi who was once again admiring the glittering rock Sara had brought back for her. She could tell the scientist was eager to investigate exactly what it was she held. The excitement and joy that brought her was palpable. Beautiful. Sara wanted to always be the reason for that smile, that light in her brilliant eyes. Maybe 'complicated' was something she could do.

Suvi glanced up to meet her eyes and thank her yet again only to find the words catch in her throat as she found Sara fixing her with a startlingly intense gaze and a fond smile on her lips.

"Let me know what you find out," she said, gesturing with a nod of her head to the rock.

"Of course," Suvi said quietly. Sara nodded once again and turned, walking away from the bridge. "Thank you." The door whooshed shut after her.

"I thought flowers were the more traditional gift, not rocks," Kallo piped up.

"Oh, shush, you," Suvi told him, turning back around in her chair to face front, cradling her gift in her lap with both hands and beaming down at the gleaming metallic surface. She would gladly accept Heleus rocks from Sara over flowers any day.

"If you lick it I'm telling Lexi."

"Kallo!"


	8. Chapter 8

**A/N: Quick update as I just got home XD Nothing too extravagant but I hope you enjoy!**

* * *

The Nexus had been transformed from a wreck barely able to sustain its huge population, into an impressive space station bustling with activity. The discovery of the salarian, turian and asari arks had brought in more skills, more hands, more cultures, made it feel much more like the vivid image Jien Garson and her many speeches had painted for those leaving the Milky Way.

Sara always looked forward to docking there, seeing the work that thousands of collaborative hands had achieved, even with the threat of the Scourge, the kett and the Archon looming large. She couldn't always be off saving the galaxy and finding a home for the residents of the arks. Sometimes she and her crew needed a break. Sometimes the Tempest needed to resupply. And sometimes the Initiative leaders demanded she check in and update them. Today it was a mix of all three. Sara had just left a meeting with Director Tann and Foster Addison and had decided that rather than return to the Tempest she would venture further into the Nexus alone. That turned out to be a mistake and a half.

As the population grew, shops and bars and cafes sprung up all over the space station to fulfill their collective needs. The mingling cultures made for an interesting walk as angara learned to live alongside the Milky Way residents. A myriad of accents and languages were filtered through her translator as she strolled leisurely through what had fast become a shopping district.

The Nexus had always smelled somewhat clinical to her as it carefully controlled its climate and air quality. Here it was scented with the delicious smell of food being fried, roasted or grilled, with the warm aroma of spices and sweet sugars and…was that coffee?

Staff called out to shoppers, offering great deals on the latest gadgets, or free samples of food and drinks being made fresh to order. Sara grudgingly accepted the turian treat thrust her way that looked so much like an eyeball on a stick that she chucked it into the first bin she saw without trying it.

"What is this?" Asked a male angara as she passed by a stall that was selling hot drinks and pastries.

"We call it a doughnut. Human thing," the human woman serving told him. "You should try it!"

Sara chuckled to herself, moving through the crowds, hoping the angara found the human treat more appealing than the thing she had been given. Barely a month ago this whole district had been locked down, empty, dark and disused. And now it was practically bursting at the seams with activity.

She stopped dead as a familiar laugh reached her ears above the noise surrounding her.

"Hey, watch it!" Grumbled a salarian as he almost walked right into her back. Sara mumbled a distracted apology as he sidestepped her, and turned, eyes scanning the faces around her until they found their target. There. Several shops down from her Suvi stood laughing beside a tall and, dare she admit it, highly attractive asari who was grinning broadly and nudging the redhead playfully in the ribs with her elbow. Sara felt a horrible flare of jealousy coil in her gut that only worsened as Suvi, still laughing, leaned into the asari, who wrapped a possessive arm around her shoulders and steered her away. Sara watched as they disappeared amongst the hundreds of others surrounding her trying to push away the feelings of hurt and bitter envy. What right did she have to feel that way? Suvi could see whoever the hell she wanted. She was nothing to Sara but a friend.

She grit her teeth. That wasn't strictly true. Not any more. Suvi was more than that. So much more. And that frightened her.

"Goddammit," she muttered aloud, earning herself several strange looks from those around her. Ignoring them, she turned on her heel and marched towards the shuttle that would take her back to the docks.

* * *

Back on the Tempest Sara stood leaning against the railing overlooking the lower deck, watching as Gil fiddled with something beneath the Nomad. His legs stuck out between two wheels and occasionally one oil-stained hand would reach out from beneath the vehicle to grope blindly across the floor for a particular tool before disappearing back underneath the Nomad.

She held the railing in a white-knuckled grip, arms wide and shoulders locked slightly tighter than was necessary to brace herself. Her brow was creased as her thoughts whirled inside her head. Jealousy still burned in the pit of her stomach and it infuriated her. That asari, whoever she was, was doing her a favour by taking Suvi off her hands. Now she didn't need to worry about chaotic emotions cluttering up her head. They could all be stuffed neatly into a box inside her mind and pushed aside. She could go back to focussing solely on Pathfinding. That's what she wanted, after all. So why did she feel so down?

"Now _there's_ a face that can only be fixed by zero G, if ever I saw one," Peebee said, leaning her back against the railing beside Sara and peering into her face with one eyebrow raised quizzically and her arms crossed over her chest. "Fancy another spin in an escape pod?" She winked.

"You've gotta be kidding me?" Sara replied gruffly without looking at her.

"What?" The asari blinked, affronted by Sara's tone. Sara looked at her with a faint smirk on her lips and Peebee realised she was being wound up. She laughed and punched Sara's shoulder lightly. "Not what I had in mind. No volcanoes this time. Unless that's your jam…?"

"I know what you meant," Sara said with a crooked smile. She should say yes. Why couldn't she say yes? It was just what she needed. A distraction. A release. Instead, she sighed and pushed off from the railing, letting her hands hang limply at her sides as she rocked back on her heels. "I can't. It's…There's…someone..." She said lamely, staring down at the Nomad glinting beneath the white lights of the open cargo bay.

"Well, I won't tell if you won't," Peebee replied slyly, unperturbed.

"Peebee, no…" Sara glanced up at her in time to see Peebee's expression switch from light-hearted to that incredibly rare one of sincerity almost comically fast.

"Wow, this is…serious," she said, eyeing Sara's gloomy disposition as the Pathfinder remained quiet. Her mood couldn't have been from relationship troubles. She was pretty sure Sara wasn't seeing anyone. But who knew? The Pathfinder never told them anything personal. So, then that perhaps meant a tale of unrequited love? How very dramatic. "Do they know?"

Sara shook her head. "No," she said, and then shrugged. "Yes. Maybe?" She thought back to her drug-induced outpouring of weirdness to Suvi and shuddered with residual embarrassment. "Ugh, probably." She closed her eyes and pressed the tips of her fingers to her forehead, massaging lightly as though that could ease the tension, unsure if she really wanted this conversation with the hyperactive asari. Or anyone, for that matter.

"Is it someone I know?" Peebee asked curiously. Sara dropped her hand and looked sideways at her in dismay and Peebee gasped excitedly, somehow reading the affirmation in that look. "Is it someone on this ship?!"

"Please don't do this…" Sara begged softly, knowing already that Peebee had latched onto an idea and wouldn't let it go. Like a dog with a bone.

"It is!" She cried gleefully, standing up straight and clapping her hands together. "Is that…Are you _blushing_?!"

"No!" Sara growled, hunching her shoulders and trying to subtly hide amongst the folds of her hood.

"Is it me?" Peebee asked playfully, bumping shoulders with Sara, who simply replied with her best poker face. "Liam?" Peebee almost immediately discarded the thought. "No…Is it Jaal? He's cute."

"No, it's not Jaal," Sara said. "Are you seriously going to go through the whole crew?"

"Is it Cora? Because _that's_ not happening," Peebee sniggered.

"No, Peebee, it's not Cora," Sara said irritably. Peebee tapped her lower lip thoughtfully with one finger. "Can you stop? It's embarrassing enough without-"

"Suvi."

"What?" Sara asked sharply. Too sharply. She saw Peebee's eyes widen and her mouth open slightly as she realised she had guessed correctly. "No!"

"It is!" She cried triumphantly. "It's Suvi!"

"Peebee, shush!" Sara hissed, peering over the railing down towards Gil as though worried he would overhear. He remained oblivious beneath the Nomad.

"Awww, Ryder." Peebee smiled and rubbed her shoulder fondly. Then gasped, demeanour once again excited. "I could help!"

"I beg you not to…"

"But I could-"

"Peebee, please do not help," Sara said seriously, clasping her hands before herself as though in prayer. She would probably scare the gentle Scot. Peebee pouted at her. "Besides," Sara sighed and slumped back against the wall behind herself, stuffing her hands into her hoodie pocket and scowling at the floor, "She's already dating someone else. I saw her earlier, out with some asari chick."

"Aw, too bad," Peebee said sympathetically, leaning against the wall beside her. "What were they doing?"

"Huh?" Sara looked up at her, confused by the question.

"When you saw them. What were they doing?" Peebee asked again curiously. She doubted Suvi had been caught in a compromising situation, but Goddess, that would have been hilarious. Well. Not for Sara. But still…

Sara shrugged moodily, gaze dropping to her boots as she scuffed one toe against the floor panel. "I don't know. Talking. Laughing."

"For real?" Peebee deadpanned, causing Sara to look at her again. "Then how do you know they're dating?"

"Well," Sara squirmed. She had kind of jumped to the conclusion there. "They had a datey vibe, okay? It's hard to explain!"

"You're an idiot."

"Excuse me?" Sara asked sharply.

"Oh, my dear, sweet Pathfinder," Peebee said solemnly, throwing one arm around Sara's shoulders. "Do not give up hope!"

"You're scaring me."

"You're completely overreacting. You saw Suvi with some woman and assumed they were dating. You hang out with me all the time and _we're_ not dating."

"That's a terrible analogy!" Sara cried. "We had sex!"

Peebee rolled her eyes. "Have you had sex with Vetra?"

"What? No!"

"Well then," Peebee said as though that settled it.

Sara continued to glare at her.

"Okay. Look. Who would you rather date?" Peebee stepped back from her, standing in front of Sara as she motioned with both hands to the left. "Boring old asari. Or fabulously exciting Pathfinder?" She raised her eyebrows, motioning to Sara now.

"Um. I'm the fabulously exciting Pathfinder and I can't date myself. That would be weird," Sara replied. Peebee threw back her head and gave an exasperated growl to the ceiling panels. Was Sara being intentionally difficult? The chances were high. She dropped her chin to regard the Pathfinder sternly.

"Okay, when she gets back? I'm fixing this," she said bluntly.

"No! Peebee, no!" Sara felt a flash of anger. "Stay out of this." Peebee just looked at her before turning and heading off. "Peebee…" Sara called in a warning tone. "You'll leave it, right? Right!?" Peebee made no answer. "Crap…"

* * *

Suvi dropped into her chair in front of the Tempest controls and leaned back into the luxuriously supportive and padded seat with her eyes closed, savouring the weight finally being off her feet after a long day off.

"Enjoy your day off?" Kallo inquired, eyeing her in amusement. Suvi opened her eyes and turned her head to look across the bridge at him, smiling.

"It was lovely, thank you," she said. "But I spent most of the day on my feet! I'm exhausted." Kallo opened his mouth to reply but stopped when the door opened and Peebee casually strolled in. Much too casually…

"Suvi! Fancy seeing you here!" She said enthusiastically, apparently thrilled to see the science officer.

"Um. I work here…" Suvi replied slowly, alarm bells already ringing in her head.

"That you do." Peebee stood with her arms folded over her chest and cocked her head to one side with an over the top thoughtful expression on her face. "You know who else works here?" She asked. Suvi looked to her salarian partner.

"Ka-" Peebee snapped her fingers and pointed to Suvi.

"That's right! Ryder!" She interrupted. Suvi just blinked at her. "Ryder is _so_ strong and brave and stoic." She gave a dreamy sigh, looking into the distance. "Those soulful eyes and toned bod are to die for. And, Goddess, is she skilled with her-"

"Peebee!" Sara's voice was muffled from behind the thick metal of the door, but the cautionary tone was unmistakable. The panel had barely started to open for her when she squeezed through the gap, rushed inside and skidded to a halt, only just preventing herself from crashing into the asari. "Get out of here _now_ ," she ordered, eyes flashing dangerously.

"Sure thing, Pathfinder," Peebee said, shooting Suvi a wink over her shoulder as she sauntered back out. Sara watched her go, then took a deep breath and turned to Suvi.

"Whatever she said? Ignore it," she said and raced after Peebee.

"So…" Suvi said slowly, turning to Kallo. "I think Peebee has a crush on Ryder?"

"I'm sure you can sympathise with that."


	9. Chapter 9

Suvi held the slice of toast between her front teeth and picked up the mug of coffee she had just made for her break, eyes on the data pad in her free hand as she crossed the galley and made to leave for her bunk in the crew's quarters. Unfortunately for her, Sara chose that same moment to enter from the corridor outside and they collided in the doorway. The drink spilled, hot coffee sloshing over Suvi's hand and splashing up the arm of Sara's hoodie. She opened her mouth in surprise and lost the toast. Sara scrambled madly to catch it, bouncing it off one elbow and snatching it out of the air with her other hand before it could fall to the floor. She held it up triumphantly with a sheepish grin.

"Sara! Oh my God, are you okay?!"

"Fine," Sara said, shaking off her arm. In truth, the coffee was kind of burning her as it soaked through her clothes.

"I am _so_ sorry." Suvi backed into the galley and left her data pad and near empty mug on the counter, took her toast back from Sara and chucked that onto the counter too.

"Don't worry about it, Suvi, really." _Not gonna get angry at that cute face.._. "Are you on your break?" She asked, still stood in the doorway.

"Yes," Suvi said, still looking absolutely mortified as she opened drawers in search of a towel to help clean up the mess she had made. Luckily none had gone on the floor. Sara had done a fantastic job of mopping it up with her clothes before it even had the chance.

"Okay, well in that case I'll go find somewhere to hide until you've finished," she teased and was rewarded with an apologetic look from Suvi complete with burning cheeks.

"Can I-Would you like some tea?" She offered. Sara quirked one eyebrow. "As an apology. I should have been looking where I was going, I can't believe I-"

"You don't need to," Sara interrupted before the guilty waffle could start.

"I want to," Suvi said earnestly.

Sara smiled and shrugged. She wasn't going to turn down tea and time with Suvi twice. "Okay, sure. Bring it through to my quarters. I wanna get this thing off." She looked down at her hoodie, the front of which was soaked.

"I'm-"

"No," she interrupted Suvi again, pointing a finger and raising her eyebrows playfully. Suvi pursed her lips and smiled, swallowing the apology.

"Go, change," she said, "I won't be long."

* * *

When Suvi entered Sara's quarters she saw her hoodie and T-shirt thrown carelessly over the end of her bed, and swallowed yet another apology as she saw the coffee staining the fabric. Sara stood waiting with her thumbs hooked into the belt loops of her trousers, leaning casually against the wall. She was wearing a new long-sleeved top in Initiative colours with the sleeves rolled up to her elbows. As Suvi made her way over Sara sat on the corner sofa that faced wide reinforced-glass panelling that offered floor-to-ceiling views outside. At that moment those views were of black space dotted with a bright scattering of stars and dust clouds.

"It's a cultivar originating in Sumatra. My own personal stash," she explained as she sat beside her and held out one of the steaming mugs of tea she had made. "Once I run out that'll be it for Earth tea."

Sara hesitated, taken aback. She had expected the bog-standard bland teabags the Initiative had stocked them with, not personal tea from home. "Suvi, you shouldn't be wasting that on me…" She protested, but took the offered mug. It had already been made for her, too late to decline now.

"It's not being wasted," Suvi insisted. It was precious to her, but she wanted to share it with Sara.

Sara looked down at the tea, then lifted the mug in both hands and inhaled the earthy scent appreciatively from the steam, determined to savour every last drop. "I keep having these thoughts." She raised her eyes from the mug to find Suvi looking back at her, pained. "I'm never going to taste this again. I'm never going to see that again."

"I have those thoughts too," Sara told her, resting her hot mug against her knee and casually shrugging one shoulder. She could feel the heat seeping through the heavy fabric of her trousers from the base of the mug. "It's natural. You'd have to be made of stone not to miss home sometimes."

Suvi nodded thoughtfully, but didn't seem completely satisfied with this answer. "The universe is like a giant tapestry," she began again, looking away from Sara out the window. "I love following its threads, but it distracts me from the whole picture. My family was right there, but I was too occupied by the big picture to appreciate them." She looked hurt, angry at herself.

Sara watched her quietly for a moment. She didn't need to feel that way.

"From everything you've told me, you're here _because_ of your family," she replied, leaning forwards to place her mug on the low coffee table in front of them. She twisted and brought one leg up onto the sofa, curling it beneath herself, so she could face Suvi properly. She couldn't bear the thought of the redhead beating herself up over this. Especially when she was so wrong. Suvi pulled her gaze away from the wide views of space to watch Sara. "Your love of science, doesn't that come from them? Aren't you with them every time you chase down a new discovery?"

"Sara, that's beautiful," Suvi said with a fond smile. She hadn't thought of it like that before, and certainly hadn't expected to hear it from Sara.

Sara looked embarrassed and scratched at the scar by her eye awkwardly, smiling crookedly at her. "Yeah, well, it's true," she said, feeling her heart begin to pound with nerves. Jaal was a firm believer of being upfront with any feelings. Peebee had insisted she should just sweep Suvi off her feet and kiss her. Maybe a mix of both was the way forward.

She was pretty sure they were having a moment together. This was a moment. _…How can you tell if something is a 'moment'? What's the protocol for deciding that?_ Maybe she should stop thinking and just act.

"And, um. The threads you followed? They lead you here to me. H-how could that have been a mistake?" She looked down at her hands, feeling herself blush and cursing herself for a fumbled attempt at flirting or whatever it was she was doing. Christ, it was so much easier in a bar when you could just walk away and pretend it never happened. Hi, wanna screw? No? Okay, bye! How could she be so confident talking a stranger into bed and yet turn into an awkward goon when faced with someone she genuinely _really_ liked? When it actually mattered she was absolutely useless.

Suvi touched one finger beneath Sara's chin to gently lift it, trying to catch her eyes. Sara was playful, a massive flirt, sometimes hard to read. Maybe Suvi was hearing this wrong but…it didn't feel that way.

"Of everything I've encountered in Heleus," she said, letting her hand drop as Sara chose to maintain eye contact, "You are by far my favourite."

Sara's breath caught in her throat. Okay, so maybe she wasn't totally useless. _Do it. Just do it._ "Oh…?" She asked, voice several octaves higher than usual. _Doitdoitdoit!_

Before her brain could catch up with her heart Sara had swooped in and captured Suvi's lips in a sweet kiss. She felt Suvi inhale sharply in surprise, pausing just a second before leaning into her, kissing her back. Just as Suvi started to bring her hand up to cup Sara's cheek and deepen their kiss there was a hiss of hydraulics from across the room, boots thudding on the floor panels.

"Hey, Ryder, can I borrow you for a-woah!" Peebee almost tripped over her own feet seeing Sara and Suvi making out on the couch like teens.

Sara was on her feet in seconds, leaving Suvi to very nearly fall face first onto the suddenly vacant sofa. Peebee's eyes flicked from first Sara, then to Suvi, and back again as Sara remained rooted to the spot with a panicked expression on her face. Her eyes were wide and her chest heaved. _Oh God_. What the hell had she just done?! _I kissed her_. And Peebee. She had forgotten to lock the door and Peebee was there. _Oh God_. Peebee, who looked like she was about to start cracking jokes and maybe tell the entire crew and-and brain caught up with heart and immediately began to stuff her feelings for Suvi back into their designated box.

"Peebee!" She cried suddenly, caught somewhere between embarrassment and anger.

"Ryder!" Peebee cried back when Sara couldn't find anything else to say. "I didn't know you were busy," she all but leered. "Should I go?" She jerked a thumb over one shoulder and half turned to leave. "It looked like a _very_ intense conversation. We can talk later."

She could feel Suvi looking up at her as she carefully kept her own eyes on Peebee, waiting for Sara to send Peebee away and continue where they left off. Maybe discuss things… Her stomach lurched at the prospect. "N-no, wait!" Sara had to get out of here. She started forwards, then changed her mind and lunged back to the coffee table to grab her mug. "Thanksfortheteabye!" She said and raced out, leaving both Suvi and Peebee behind. The asari winked at Suvi before sauntering after the escaping Pathfinder.

Suvi stared at the closed door at a loss for words. What the frilly heck had just happened?

* * *

 **A/N: You thought it was the get together, but it was me! Peebee! XD**


	10. Chapter 10

**A/N: I'm having a sucky day so here's an update! XD (That's how this works, right?)**

* * *

The Tempest wasn't an especially large ship and yet somehow Sara had managed to successfully avoid Suvi for several days. That stung. Sara had kissed _her,_ right after saying some of the sweetest things to her. If anyone had cause to hide surely it was Suvi? She hadn't initiated anything, after all. Not that the thought of hiding had occurred to her anyway. The feelings Sara had…clumsily sort of revealed (more like put words into actions) were exactly the ones Suvi had been desperately hoping for but never expected. Yes, as Sara's lips first brushed hers she had been...stunned to say the least, but then her heart had soared and she had eagerly reciprocated only to have the contact broken almost immediately. And so, ever since, she had been actively searching Sara out. But each time she tried to reach out, to find out what had happened and what was now going on, Sara was either already with someone and refused to leave them for a private conversation or else she had some 'super secret Pathfinder business' and would promptly vanish. Suvi had decided enough was enough and at the end of her shift attempted to corner Sara in the cargo bay. But, of course, Fate had chosen that precise moment to intervene and handed Sara a perfectly legitimate excuse. Voeld needed their help.

"Gotta run. Pathfinder business." Sara attempted an apologetic smile but Suvi could see the relief in her eyes. She felt a stab of annoyance tinged with hurt. Peebee snorted behind Sara and tried to cover it up with a cough as she saw Suvi's eyes flick to her. She turned away under the pretence of checking over her weapons.

Fine. Suvi could wait.

"Okay. Well. Stay safe," she told Sara sincerely. Sara nodded once and Suvi turned on her heel and walked away, oblivious to the Pathfinder's gaze following her route towards the lift.

Sara let out a low sigh through her mouth, turning her helmet over in her hands absent-mindedly as she watched the retreating science officer with a now-familiar dull ache in the centre of her chest. The feeling had confused her for a while until she had realised, with a kiss from Suvi, that it wasn't a sign of impending heart failure. Suvi was the cause. A yearning for the redhead with her ocean eyes and stupid bloody gorgeous smile and goddammit why was Sara such a moron? That moment she had shared with Suvi in her quarters, over special tea, however brief, had been… Lovely to say the least. The soft brush of Suvi's lips against her own, warmed by the tea they had been drinking, had been on her mind ever since and left her craving more. And that desire, the yearning, the enormity of her feelings terrified her. Left her feeling open and vulnerable.

"Come on," she said, tearing her gaze away from Suvi as she reached her destination and headed back to the bridge above them. Sara jammed her helmet onto her head, checked the fastenings and turned to the Nomad. "Let's get this over with."

Peebee and Jaal clambered up into the passenger seats, leaving the driver's seat for Sara. The doors closed electronically after them as Sara booted up the engine. The dashboard flared to life in a blaze of coloured lights.

" _Opening the bay doors,_ " Gil said via the intercom inside the vehicle. " _Hope you're wearing extra socks, it's a balmy minus thirty out there_."

"I hate this place," Peebee muttered as the doors opened and Sara nosed the Nomad carefully down the ramp onto a plain of ice that stretched for miles around them. Snow glittered in the weak sunlight, blue ice shimmering in patches underneath. Icy cliffs rose up around them, marching away into the distance, blending near seamlessly with a pale blue sky.

"Well, at least we're not stuck in a blizzard this time," Sara told her, picking up speed as they moved away from the long shadow cast across the pristine snow by the Tempest.

"Lucky us," Peebee commented drily.

"Yeah, lucky us," Sara said. "Can you input those coordinates Anjik sent us?" They had been contacted by the angaran resistance on Voeld and tasked with finding a group of scouts that had gone missing in the area surrounding the Initiative outpost there.

"Sure thing." Peebee activated her omni-tool and used it to add the information to the Nomad's navigation systems. An icon appeared instantly on the map display on the dash.

"Thanks."

"Mmhmm." Peebee was watching her and not trying to disguise it as she tried to bait her into talking. Sara glanced sideways at her, then returned her gaze to the unchanging view outside of ice, snow, ice, more snow. She knew exactly what was on Peebee's mind and it wasn't something she wanted to discuss.

The engine growled as they climbed a steep slope, suspension absorbing the impact of rocks hidden beneath the surface of the snow as the wheels churned and caused them to rock slightly from side to side. Then they were over the top and the Nomad continued to bounce across an uneven sheet of ice hidden by smooth snow.

Jaal shifted awkwardly in his seat.

"I find talking helps…" He offered lamely, sensing some kind of conflict between his companions.

"Nope." Sara replied stiffly. Peebee gave an agitated sigh and began watching the ice planet instead.

* * *

"Ryder, you have _got_ to talk to her." Peebee had dutifully complied with Sara's wishes of non-discussion for a lengthy half an hour (an impressive period of silence for the chatty asari). She kept her voice low as they inched through the ice caverns, scanning for enemies. Snow had drifted in through the wide entrance and crunched underfoot, shimmering like silver dust as the torches mounted on their weapons illuminated the way.

Thick columns of ice stretched from floor to ceiling, supporting the roof high above them and throwing shadows that jumped as they moved forwards. Hostiles could be lurking anywhere now that they had left the light of day far behind. The ground was slippery and uneven and the snow seemed to swallow sound, muffling it strangely.

Sara had noted kett activity nearby and suggested they venture into the caves. They had parked the Nomad outside and climbed out to investigate the cave entrance. Footprints in the snow, kett and angaran, seemed to lend credit to her idea.

"Talk to who?" Jaal asked, looking around them for a surprise fourth party member as though Vetra or Cora had snuck along with them.

"Suvi," Peebee replied simply, as though that explained everything.

Jaal studied her a moment, trying to make sense of this. "Why would Sara need to talk to Suvi?"

"Don't," Sara said tersely as Peebee opened her mouth to explain the situation to Jaal, glaring through the tinted faceplate of her helmet. The asari rolled her eyes.

"Oh, come on. How would you feel if you were her?" She demanded, gaze returning to the Pathfinder.

Hurt. Betrayed. Confused. Sara shook her head tightly as though to clear it of those thoughts. "You obviously like her and now she knows it. _And_ she likes you. Isn't that what you wanted?"

"Can we not do this right now?" Sara asked sharply. She felt trapped. It wasn't the first time Peebee had brought this up and, unlike every other time, she couldn't exactly storm off. Peebee's accidental interruption of her…talk with Suvi had left Sara feeling totally humiliated. At least Peebee had had the sense to not go blabbing to the rest of the crew. Sara thought she might have thrown herself out of the airlock in shame if the asari had done that. But being caught with Suvi in that moment, when her guard was down and her heart laid bare, had panicked Sara and forced her to close herself off while she figured herself out. And that meant Suvi must be avoided at all costs.

"Then when, Ryder? All you do is avoid your problems. You need to face this or you're seriously going to-"

"Or what?" Sara interrupted her angrily. She halted and turned to face Peebee. Jaal paused ahead of them, eyes moving between the two women. He was well and truly lost, but had felt the tension simmering away almost as soon as they had climbed into the Nomad and left the Tempest and the outpost behind.

"You'll regret it," Peebee finished with a careless shrug. "You'll lose her. Maybe even to that asari on the Nexus." The low jab was meant as an awakening. She knew Sara could see that, but instead of rising to the bait the Pathfinder shrugged back at her.

"Maybe that's for the best," she said simply.

"You don't really think that." She could read that in the way Sara hadn't fully committed to the statement.

"Don't I?" Sara challenged.

Jaal sat down on a rock frosted with ice crystals with his rifle across his lap, sensing he had been forgotten and that they might be a while. Hopefully they wouldn't attract unwanted attention. It would be hard to hear anyone approaching with the snow swallowing sound.

"Look, I don't like strings with my relationships either but no, you don't think that," Peebee said. "Shall I tell you what I think?"

"No. But you'll tell me anyway."

"I think you're scared," Peebee continued as though Sara hadn't spoken, putting her hands on her hips. That made the Pathfinder bristle. "You're used to being in charge, calling the shots with casual flings and now you've finally found 'the one'-"

"Like you believe in 'the one'?"

"-you're scared of messing up. Of giving in to your emotions because they're not so easily defined. They're _messy_ and _complicated_ ," using her own words against her, the smartarse, "and you don't like that. Well, boohoo! How simple do you think it'll be when you break her heart because you're being a selfish coward?"

Sara stayed quiet, shifting her gaze from Peebee to Jaal on his rock. He gave her an encouraging smile, seemingly unconcerned by the argument, as though it were the most normal thing in the world to halt a search and rescue mission to have an argument about crushes. "Why do you care so much, anyway?" She mumbled, rubbing her thumb against the rough grip of her sniper and looking down at the icy ground.

"Because," Peebee said cagily. "I kinda like you and it's weird. I don't want to see you mess this up." She crossed her arms over her chest, watching Sara stew.

Peebee was…right, she supposed. She had been selfish and cowardly. She had run away from her issues, avoided Suvi because it was easier to hide than to accept that she was falling for the annoyingly attractive redhead. And that was definitely something she wasn't used to. Give her hulking great fiends to fight any day. Wonderful but alarming feelings? Oh, hell no!

There was no deep distressing reason for the way she was. No one in the past had hurt her so badly that she could no longer trust or love. It was just her and her weird ideals that built walls and pushed people away. She needed to just suck it up and get over herself.

She took a deep breath in through her nose, let it out slowly. "Okay."

"Okay?" Peebee asked in surprise. She had expected a minor enraged explosion from the Pathfinder, not a soft agreement.

Sara nodded. "You're right," she said.

Peebee gaped at her for a second, then flashed a smug grin. "Of course I'm right," she said. "I should be a therapist or something."

"I think Lexi might have something to say about that," Sara replied, bumping shoulders with her as they made their way over to Jaal.

"Well, that was fascinating," he told them as he stood up, rifle in hand. "But we really should be locating those missing scouts."

* * *

The angaran scouts had been rescued, the kett holding them defeated. They had been captured by a roving band of kett who had stuffed them into containment cells hidden in the back of the ice caverns awaiting a trip to the kett flagship and an undoubtedly grisly end. They had returned to the base on Voeld with a set of kett data pads to translate. All in all, a very successful outing. Sara was glad to leave the frigid air of Voeld for the comfortable warmth of the Tempest. She stripped off her heavy armour and went through the usual checks, looking for damage on the plates, stress to the fixtures, before finally permitting herself a shower. The heat soothed the aches and pains of charging around the ice caves and fighting, sluiced away the grime, and relaxed her. She allowed herself an extra minute under the delightfully hot water as a reward for a mission completed without hiccups, using the codes Kallo had kindly sent her shortly after she took control of the Tempest to bypass the water rations, before getting dried and dressed into the usual black cargoes and long-sleeved shirt. She pulled her omni-tool cuff back onto her wrist, stuffed her feet into her boots, not bothering to tie the laces, and left the showers towelling her long hair dry. She heard the door to her room slide near silently open as she approached and entered.

"Hey."

"Oh, holy crap!" The soft voice startled her. Sara whipped the towel away from her face and dropped into a fighting stance, free hand reaching for the pistol at her hip that wasn't actually there because this wasn't a combat scenario and why the hell was Suvi sat on her bed?!

Suvi was equally as shocked by the reaction her quiet greeting had caused and found herself staring at the Pathfinder in alarm. But that soon changed. She glanced over Sara appreciatively. She had never seen Sara with her hair down before. It looked darker when damp, longer, reaching well passed her shoulders. While ruffled from the towel it still looked-

"What are you doing here?" Sara's loud voice cut through her thoughts. She was still stood in front of the now closed door and obviously rattled, though she had stepped out of the fighting stance. "SAM, why didn't you warn me?"

" _Doctor Anwar asked me not to_ ," SAM said, opting to use the open channel so Suvi could hear him reply.

"Traitor," Sara muttered darkly, not moving from her position by the door.

Suvi stood up from where she had been perched on the edge of the bed, anxiously twisting her hands around each other in front of herself as she watched the agitated Pathfinder. "Sara, we need to talk," she said, expecting to either be thrown out of the room or Sara to run away, and preparing to argue her case or give chase.

But Sara sighed and chucked the towel aside. Because yes. They most definitely did need to talk.


	11. Chapter 11

**A/N: So…it didn't actually occur to me I'd left a cliffhanger on the last chapter so I'll bet you're all glad it was an early update with a quick follow up XD I'd just like to say thanks for the reviews, faves and follows! I love seeing all those :P Aaaaaaaaaand...It's midnight so it's technically Monday so here's another update!**

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For two adults that needed a serious conversation about where they stood with each other Sara and Suvi had become incredibly quiet. The silence stretched between them, the only sounds coming from the Tempest itself. The faint hum of electricity, the sigh of air being filtered through vents, muffled footsteps from the walkway above the corridor outside.

Suvi stood in front of the bed with her arms folded awkwardly over her chest, watching the Pathfinder worriedly. She wasn't entirely sure she would like this talk.

But at least Sara met her gaze and wasn't running for the metaphorical hills. She could feel the charge building between them as the silence grew and they maintained eye contact throughout, as though gauging each other.

Sara finally sighed and nodded. "We do need to talk," she said, glancing away, down at the floor, and combing her fingers back through her wet hair to tame it somewhat. She brought it round over her shoulder, tugging at the ends agitatedly. "You'll be pleased to hear Peebee managed to talk some sense into me earlier."

Suvi frowned good naturedly and cocked her head to one side. "I'm not sure how I feel about that…" She said.

Sara gave a short, breathy laugh, looking back up at her and dropping her hands to her sides. "It was good. Jaal approved," she told her as she crossed the room and sat on the edge of her bed. She patted the space next to her for Suvi to sit with her. "So…" she began slowly, "I'm not very good at talking about how I feel," She brought her legs up onto the bed to sit cross-legged, facing Suvi as the redhead sat beside her. Her eyes kept darting away from Suvi's nervously, as though afraid now to maintain contact.

"I had noticed," Suvi teased her gently. She felt anxious herself, though hid it from Sara, attempting, instead, to exude an aura of calm in the hopes it would somehow soothe the woman sitting opposite her. The woman who she wanted nothing more than to close the gap between them once more and pick up where they had left off the other day. Or maybe she should take charge of the situation instead…?

Sara glanced up at her then and Suvi felt herself blush, as though a mere look could reveal her thoughts. Sara's eyes were the clear blue of a summer sky, and so expressive. Right now, they seemed troubled, and Suvi felt a twinge of apprehension. That didn't bode well for the outcome of this conversation.

"Lexi tells me it's probably because I view it as a weakness," Sara continued, looking away once more and picking at the loose laces of her boots. "But…I know I shouldn't feel that way." Jaal wasn't weak. The angara weren't weak. They were fierce warriors who spoke their minds, were honest with their feelings, and when someone got hurt because of it they were able to move past it. Bottling everything up inside, pretending she didn't care, meant Sara couldn't deal with it, couldn't move past it. It festered and corrupted and _that_ made her weak.

"It's not a weakness," Suvi agreed, trying and failing to catch her gaze. "You're not weak, Sara. You're the strongest person I know. You were never meant to be Pathfinder but you didn't let that stop you. And now look. We're finding a way to Meridian because of _you_."

"I don't feel strong," Sara mumbled. She glanced up at Suvi. "I saw you the other day, on the Nexus. You were with someone, an asari."

"Lyra?" Suvi asked, brows knitting in confusion as she attempted to follow this new thread of the conversation.

Sara shrugged, looking down and fiddling with her laces again. "You seemed pretty close." She had definitely felt weak seeing them.

"She's a friend, someone I worked with," Suvi explained. "I was telling her about you." That made Sara look up properly.

"Me?" She asked in surprise.

A mischievous grin slowly spread across Suvi's face. "Wait…Were you-you weren't _jealous_?" That was…funny. Sara Ryder, the force to be reckoned with, the human Pathfinder, had seen Suvi with someone else and felt jealous. _I made Sara jealous?_ Suvi tried to hide her smile, realising that as fun as that was for her, Sara had felt otherwise.

"I'm an envious Pathfinder," Sara said with a self-deprecating crooked smile that tugged at Suvi's heart, made her grin too. They sat in comfortable silence for a moment, just looking, until Sara took a deep breath to steady the sudden nerves she felt. Time to bare her heart. Which began pounding against her ribs in response, in protest. "This whole…" she gestured lamely with one hand, and let it drop into her lap, "whatever it is I've been feeling since we met? It's hard for me. It's not something I'm used to. The…jealousy and the…" She hesitated, feeling her stomach clench as she tried to stop herself talking, from revealing too much. She looked down at her hand, winding the boot laces around her fingers. "The way you make me feel so damn _happy_ when I see you," she ploughed on, trying to tear down the walls even as they frantically built up around her. Suvi remained quiet, watching her intently while fighting against the impulse to reach out and still Sara's hands. She wasn't yet sure if Sara was up for touching. Sara looked up at her. "I know it sounds corny but I've really never felt like this before. I'm used to casual and this is most definitely not casual. So yeah, I've been avoiding you because I'm confused and…a little scared."

"I-I can give you space…?" Suvi offered weakly with a faint smile. That was something she didn't want. At all. Sara liked her. Now that she knew that there was no going back.

"I don't think I want space," Sara said, surprising even herself by admitting that. And the words came faster, easier, "I know I can be awkward and a _total_ pain in the ass, but…" She reached out and took Suvi's hands gently in her own. The contact sent a thrill through Suvi, Sara's skin warm and soft against her own, and she raised her eyes from their entwined fingers to meet tender blue. "I do really like you, Suvi. A _lot_ actually. And I'm sorry for what I put you through, so I can totally understand if you-"

"Stop," Suvi interrupted, the abruptness in her voice startling them both.

Sara blinked at her. "Wuh?" She asked.

Suvi smiled and shook her head. She didn't need the long explanation. She had already figured it out. Sara had said enough, and what she _hadn't_ said was easily read in her eyes. They were both on the same page, and that meant one thing. "Just kiss me."

Sara didn't need to be asked twice. She leaned in, angling her head to do as Suvi asked, but was halted by an insistent palm against the centre of her chest. Suvi glanced worriedly away from her. Sara followed her gaze to the door, then turned to look back at her with a wicked grin.

"SAM?" She asked, keeping her eyes on Suvi's. "Lock the door." Suvi felt a shiver of excitement run through her at that look.

" _Yes, Pathfinder_ ," came the robotic voice, and they heard the locks engage as the electronic panel shone red in the middle of the door.

"You're stuck in here with me this time," Suvi said, reaching up to brush Sara's long fringe out of her eyes, fingers pausing amongst the soft hair at her temples, then tentatively tracing the faint scar under her right eye, the one Sara always seemed to rub at when thinking. It felt slightly raised, but just as soft as the surrounding skin. Sara turned her head to press her lips against the inside of Suvi's wrist, leaning into her touch.

"Good," she said, watching as Suvi inched closer. "I'm not running this time." She smiled crookedly, somehow managing to look both apologetic and mischievous. Suvi loved it.

She threaded her fingers through long raven locks to the back of Sara's head and pulled her in, bringing their lips together in a slow, leisurely kiss, taking the time to savour the moment now that she wasn't in danger of Sara sprinting for the other end of the ship, or anyone else walking in and freaking Sara out. She felt Sara's hands making their way up her arms, hot even through the material of her uniform, as they began to map Suvi, thumbs following the line of her collar bones and then brushing up over her collar to offer the skin beneath her jaw a gentle caress. Suvi felt it like a bolt of electricity that set her skin tingling, needing more.

Sara uttered a sigh of bliss against Suvi as she felt every fear, every worry that had pressed down upon her since awakening on the Hyperion, fall away into nothingness, as all she could think about, all she could care about, was Suvi's soft lips against her own. Suvi, who tasted of that special tea brought two-and-a-half million light years from home. Suvi's fingers massaged her scalp lightly as she insistently pulled at Sara to draw her still closer. Sara crossed her wrists behind Suvi's neck, obediently leaning into her. She dropped one leg from the bed, foot landing with a thud as her heavy boot met the floor, manoeuvred the other leg so that she and Suvi now sat thigh to thigh. Suvi began to lean back, pulling Sara with her, in a smooth attempt to lay on the bed without breaking contact. In her eagerness she overbalanced, resulting in the Scot breaking their kiss with a squeak as she fell backwards and pulled a very surprised Sara down with her. Sara recovered quickly and laughed, bracing herself on her forearms either side of Suvi's head and shifting her weight onto one side, worried about being too heavy for the smaller woman.

"Sorry…" Suvi mumbled, feeling herself blush. She could feel Sara's breath caressing her face, the weight and warmth of her body and those brilliant blue eyes on her own making it hard to think. Sara's hair had fallen in a long dark curtain around her face, surrounding Suvi in her intoxicating scent.

"You could have just asked," Sara teased her, eyes shifting to Suvi's hand as she gently combed her fingers through the still-damp hair that now tickled her face.

"It's gone wavy," she commented quietly.

"It does that when I leave it to air dry," Sara explained, meeting Suvi's eyes again.

"I like it," Suvi told her.

Sara smiled and kissed her forehead. "I like your hair too," she said. "It's like fire."

"Oh, no, you're not a secret pyromaniac, are you?" Suvi joked.

Sara gave a playful grin. "It's entirely possible," she said. "I mean, I loved being launched into an active volcano via escape pod."

Suvi grimaced. "Don't remind me about that…" She groaned. "I'm still considering stuffing Peebee out of the airlock for it. You could have…ugh!" Her features creased into the most adorable scowl Sara had ever seen.

"Hey, I came back, didn't I?" She pointed out, holding back laughter. "Not even _slightly_ crispy." The cheeky grin on her face made Suvi roll her eyes and smile back.

"You know, you are _much_ too charming for your own good," she said, hands moving over Sara's shoulders to settle either side of her ribs. She could feel the warmth of Sara's skin through the thin fabric of her top and that set a small fire burning low in her stomach.

"I know," Sara looked incredibly pleased with herself. She dipped her head to peck Suvi's lips once, twice, longer. "Mmm, conversations about feelings are more fun than I thought," she commented, leaning her forehead against Suvi's, noses touching. "Are you on a break? How long do I have you for?"

Suvi gave a slow grin. She had finished her shift for the day. Kallo had the helm all to himself. And, more importantly, she had the Pathfinder all to _herself_. "A while…" She said. The look Sara gave her then set that fire burning hotter. Their lips met again for a kiss that started slow but quickly grew in intensity. Suvi balled her hands in the back of Sara's top, pulling her closer until there couldn't have been even a millimetre of a gap between their bodies. She jumped at the sudden loud chime by her ear, pulling away in alarm, and Sara gave a low growl of frustration into her neck where Suvi was sure the Pathfinder would be able to feel the way her pulse was racing. She lay a palm flat against Sara's ribs and was pleased to feel her heart pounding equally as fast, allowing herself a small smug smile as _she_ had caused that. She noticed the glow then from Sara's omni-tool right next to her head as a comms request came through. Sara raised her head and shot an accusatory glare at the cuff, clearly considering ignoring the message. Suvi moved her hands to Sara's waist, arching one eyebrow in amusement.

 _"Sara, you're needed at the vidcon,"_ Peebee's voice informed them over the ships intercom.

"Goddammit, Peebee," Sara muttered darkly. Suvi had to marvel at the asari's timing. Though, at least they had managed to get further this time before being interrupted. Much further.

" _Sa-ra…?"_ Peebee called again in a sing-song voice after a moment with no response. Sara pouted at Suvi in dismay.

"Stuff her out the airlock, huh?" She asked the redhead.

Suvi grinned, squeezing her hip playfully. "Be nice," she said. The omni-tool chimed again.

 _"Sara, answer your damn comms!"_ Cora this time, stern voice crackling across the entire ship. _"Scott's woken up! We're en route to the Nexus now."_

"What?!" Sara rolled off Suvi and sat bolt upright while activating her comms at the same time to speak with Cora. "What did you say?!" Suvi sat up, watching the emotions play over Sara's face; shock, excitement, fear.

 _"The call just came though. Get up here if you want to talk to Doctor Carlyle."_ The call ended. Sara looked at Suvi, arm still crooked up displaying her omni-tool, eyes wide.

"Go," Suvi said, combing her fingers through her mussed hair. "I'll be needed back on the bridge." Sara landed a hasty kiss on her cheek and leaped off the bed, sprinting out of the room with her hair flying behind her and boot laces trailing, only just remembering to unlock the door before leaving.

She reached the meeting room in record time. Cora stood at the vidcon talking to the flickering image of Doctor Harry Carlyle while Peebee lounged on one of the sofas, eager to see what the Ryder twin was like.

"What happened to you?" She asked, frowning up at Sara as she passed.

"What?" Sara stopped to look down at herself and realised she hadn't finished getting dressed after her shower. Suvi had distracted her. And what a pleasant distraction that had been…Her boots weren't tied and her hair was a mess from where she had left it to dry and Suvi had been running her hands through it while they kissed. "Nothing." She swept passed Peebee and all but barged Cora out of the way. "How is he?!" She demanded, staring hopefully into the projected face of Doctor Carlyle. He smiled reassuringly at her.

 _"He's fine. A little groggy,"_ he replied, glancing somewhere out of shot. _"Someone's here to speak to you,"_ he said. The image shifted and suddenly Sara was looking into the haggard face of her twin brother. He had the same colour hair as her, shaved at the sides and combed straight back from his brow, eyes a slightly darker blue, but there was no mistaking the familial resemblance between them. He still had that stupid goatee darkening his chin, and she could see the familiar tattoo beneath his left ear, stretching down the side of his neck. She hated it, thought it made him look scruffy, but right now it was a sight for sore eyes.

"Scott…" She breathed, gripping the console tight. He gave her an easy smile and a weak wave from where he lay propped up amongst the pillows of his bed, still in the cryo medbay.

 _"Hey, sis."_

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 **A/N: Legit nervous to see what you folks think of this one XD**


	12. Chapter 12

**A/N: Thanks again for the reviews, guys :D It's so great to hear you're all enjoying this!**

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Sara felt anxious as she made her way to the cryo bay on board the Ark Hyperion, which was ridiculous because she was only going to visit her twin brother. They were the best of friends, almost inseparable since birth until their jobs kept them apart, Scott overseeing a mass relay near Arcturus Station, Sara joining Prothean research sites on various planets. Even then, they spoke as often as possible. But… So much had changed since she had first awoken, since they had arrived in Heleus. The Archon, the Remnant, Meridian. And she had been made Pathfinder…

 _Oh, shit, he doesn't know about Dad!_ The realisation caused her to stop dead in the corridor as dread settled cold and heavy in her gut, along with the heavy ache in her chest, now familiar, as she thought of her father. How could she break that to him? Hi, Scott, welcome back to the world of consciousness! By the way, Dad's dead and I'm the Pathfinder.

She took a deep breath to steady herself, swallowed the lump in her throat, and continued on her path across white floor panels, passed walls of white, and ceilings of white lit by bright fluorescent strip lights. Why were the arks so damn _clinical_ no matter the department? Some optimistic person had attempted to make the place look more homely by arranging potted shrubs in corners of rooms and corridors. They failed miserably.

When Sara walked into the med bay that linked with cryo her eyes homed in immediately on the bed her twin brother was sat on the edge of, midway along one wall of the long room. His shoulders were rounded and he leaned his forearms on his thighs as though exhausted by his six-hundred-year nap. When stood to his full height, he was a whole head taller than her, but right now he seemed so small, so frail. Doctor Carlyle stood beside him, datapad in hand as he checked the various results of medical scans and readouts being fed back to him from the still-recovering Scott Ryder. Her pace slowed as the nerves kicked up a notch. What would he say…?

"Scott," she called, hurrying over to the bed. He looked up at her voice and his eyes narrowed angrily as they met Sara's concerned gaze.

"You lied about Dad. You told me he was still alive." The accusation in Scott's words forced her to a halt. His voice was thick with emotion. Sara felt a pang of guilt and took a tentative step forwards with her arms held out to hug him. Scott glared and turned away. That hurt. But she understood. With their mother already dead, their father had been the only parent left. Now they had no one, no other family but each other. She shouldn't have kept his passing from her brother…

Doctor Carlyle moved away, heading out of earshot to give them some privacy while remaining near enough should they need him.

"Scott, you were in a coma," Sara said quietly, sitting beside him on the bed. He refused to look at her, but he also didn't move away. She took small comfort in that. "I-I didn't want to risk your recovery by telling you something like that. Wouldn't you do the same for me?" She risked a glance sideways at him, feeling a lump building in her throat. He was scowling at the floor, back rigid and hands clenched into fists on his thighs. Christ, he was mad. "I thought I was making the right decision. I thought I'd be here when you woke up, and I could tell you and make it better." Her voice cracked. She cursed herself furiously in her head for the weakness. She would _not_ cry here, in front of Scott and a bunch of cryo staff and newly awoken colonists that occupied most of the other beds. That would inspire confidence in their Pathfinder, for sure!

Scott softened at the waver in her voice. He blew a short, sharp puff of air out of his nose and leaned back to hold up an arm behind her.

"C'mere," he said and smiled faintly at her. He hadn't travelled from the Milky Way to Andromeda to hold a grudge over poor judgement. Sara eagerly burrowed into his side, winding an arm around his waist as he wrapped her shoulders in a comforting half-embrace. She could feel the weakness in his limbs, and tightened her own arm around him as though that would restore his strength. He squeezed her back in response. "So, I guess it's just you and me now, huh?"

"Yeah…" Sara muttered, leaning her head against his shoulder.

"What's this rumour I'm hearing that you're the Pathfinder?"

Sara pulled away from him to stare up into his face in disbelief. "Did Doctor Carlyle leave _anything_ for me to tell you?!" She demanded and Scott laughed. Deep and genuine and infectious. Sara gave a giggle and bumped her shoulder against his chest.

"It was Dad's parting gift. I'm considering asking for a refund."

"I don't think their refund policy allows that," Scott said, and Sara grinned in response. He smiled and planted both hands on his knees. "As soon as I get my gear-" he heaved himself to his feet, wincing painfully and gritting his teeth with the effort.

"Careful!" Sara jumped up with him, placing a staying palm against his chest while supporting him under his arm with the other. Scott gratefully leaned into her.

"Woah, woah, woah!" Doctor Carlyle rushed back over to them. "No way are you fit for duty, sir. You need a chance to mend." He helped Sara ease Scott back onto the bed.

"Says who?" Scott grumbled.

"Me," Sara said firmly. "Um, and the doctor. Who, being a medical specialist, you should probably listen to more than me."

"Right," Doctor Carlyle raised an eyebrow at her before looking back to Scott. "You can keep talking if you'd like," he added, turning back to Sara as Scott yawned widely and lay back down. "Just, no arm wrestling." He made his way back to his work station, faltering slightly as he realised he probably shouldn't have mentioned arm wrestling in case he put ideas into their heads.

Sara stayed talking to Scott for as long as she could, but all too soon her time was up. While Scott engaged with the conversation it was clearly tiring him out. She sighed and stood up from her perch on the edge of his bed.

"I should probably go," she told her brother regretfully. He looked exhausted and she worried that her presence hampered his recovery. He wanted to talk, to learn everything that had passed while he lay in a coma, but he didn't have the energy. "I'm meant to be meeting Suvi soon." Scott perked up, eyes going from sleepy to alert in seconds. Sara realised her mistake too late. _Here comes the teasing…_

"Who's Suvi?" He asked, expertly feigning nonchalance.

"She's, um…A friend," she answered vaguely, feeling her cheeks grow warm. "Tempest's science officer."

"Aha." The smirk told her Scott wasn't fooled. "Brains and beauty?"

"I should go now." Sara inched backwards, face glowing like a beacon. The smirk widened.

"Have fun," Scott taunted her, folding his arms behind his head.

"Mhmm." Sara turned and hurried away.

"I want to meet her soon!" Scott called after her. She heard him chuckle as she turned the corner and made for the shuttle linking the Hyperion with the Nexus.

* * *

They had arranged to meet in the Nexus science labs before finding a (quiet) bar to relax in. A kind of date, which Sara found incredibly exciting. She hadn't been on many of those, and to go out on one with Suvi was…Well, it filled her with an enjoyable buzz that she definitely needed to feel more of.

The lab doors opened automatically as she approached and she slipped inside. It was surprisingly quiet. Usually lab techs were rushing around collating data, squinting into the microscopes and discussing theories. The only person there at the moment was Suvi, hidden away in the back of the lab with her back to the door as she hunched over something on the desk in front of her. She hadn't heard Sara enter, didn't respond to the door closing again. Sara gave a smirk and made her way slowly over, creeping between the desks and shelves of equipment until she stood right behind Suvi. She paused a moment, waiting to see if Suvi would sense her presence. When that didn't happen, she danced her fingers suddenly across the redhead's ribs. Suvi had been totally engrossed in her work and so the sudden sensation of someone touching her caused her to gasp in surprise and straighten as though hit with an electrical current. She whipped round to stare at her attacker, then laughed when she saw who it was.

"Sara!" She pushed her palm against Sara's shoulder lightly. "You gave me a fight!" Sara just grinned at her, blue eyes playful. She loved the way Suvi said her name, so different to the way everyone else said it. The lilt of her accent combined with the fondness she imbued it with made her heart flutter every time. "I must have lost track of time." It felt like only moments had passed since she entered the lab. "How's Scott…?" She asked tentatively. She hadn't asked to accompany Sara, and Sara hadn't offered. They both knew she had to see Scott alone.

"He's good," Sara said, rubbing one finger against the scar that crossed her left eyebrow and terminated at her cheekbone. "Clearly exhausted but he's doing his best to be a pain in Doctor Carlyle's butt."

"That sounds familiar…" Suvi commented playfully.

"I'm sure you don't mean me," Sara replied with a grin. "Anyway, what were you so engrossed in?" She glanced over Suvi's work station curiously.

Suvi turned back to her work. "I was just scanning Jardaan prototypes for an interactive model I'm building for the team."

"Okay. Colour me intrigued." Sara looked up from the tech on the desk to Suvi, who suddenly held her hands out excitedly.

"Let me show you!" Sara turned her gaze back to the desk as Suvi left her to fiddle about with something behind them. The lights in the lab dimmed and she reappeared at Sara's side. "It's not complete yet, but…" She leaned down and typed in a couple of commands on the keyboard in front of them, then leaned back slightly as a shimmering blue image flickered to life, suspended above the desk.

"Wow…" Sara breathed, staring in wonder.

"You're looking at the building blocks of life in Heleus," Suvi told her reverently. "This… _This_ is what I came here to find. And I've only just started."

"It's beautiful." And it was. Lines and arcs of glowing blue light that continually shifted and coiled about itself, swirling to create an intricate structure. But that wasn't what captivated her right now.

"Sorry?" Suvi glanced up at Sara's tone to find her staring right back at her, clear blue eyes alight with a passion she hadn't seen before. It took her breath away. "You mean the display…right…?" She asked uncertainly, slowly straightening to face the Pathfinder properly.

Sara twitched an eyebrow, a roguish smile playing over her lips. "Well, yes…" She said slowly, inching closer. "And no. I mean _you_. Everything about you. Your insatiable curiosity about the universe, your faith, your love of science…" She ticked them off on her fingers and Suvi ducked her head bashfully. "That beautiful mind of yours." She buried a kiss atop Suvi's head.

"Sara…" Suvi mumbled, a little overwhelmed by the declaration. She nudged her shoulder against Sara's, half expecting her to offset the sincerity with a joke. When that didn't come she looked up and took both of Sara's hands in her own. "Science is my calling and my passion, but you-you're my home."

Sara felt a smile she couldn't fight tug at her lips. She kissed Suvi briefly in reply, touched by the sentiment. She had never been someone's 'home' before. She had made lots of firsts lately. Opened her heart to Suvi, committed to Suvi, become Suvi's home…Okay so it was all about Suvi, but still. Progress was progress.

Suvi reached down and pressed a button on the panel set into the desk she had been working at, giving Sara a look that made her feel as though her heart had skipped a beat.

"Locked the door," she announced softly. Sara raised her eyebrows and grinned. Well, that was unexpectedly exciting. "I know I said we should go out, but…" She trailed off as Sara began to back her up against the desk with a devilish smirk.

"But this is more fun," Sara finished for her, placing her hands on Suvi's hips as Suvi wound her arms around Sara's neck. Sara leaned down and kissed her. Suvi responded eagerly, running one hand down the length of Sara's spine, stopping at her waist to pull her in closer. Sara tangled her fingers in Suvi's hair, moving her lips along her jaw and trailing butterfly kisses down her neck, earning herself a soft gasp in response.

"I want to stay here forever," she murmured against Suvi's warm skin, able to taste her against her lips and craving more.

"The team might have something to say about that when they try to get in here," Suvi replied breathlessly, closing her eyes to the wonderful tingling sensations Sara's kisses were giving her and sneaking her fingers beneath Sara's hoodie to feel the deliciously warm skin of her back and _what_ was that annoying beeping noise?!

Sara groaned in dismay as her omni-tool crackled to life.

 _"Pathfinder Ryder?"_ Pathfinder Hayjer's urgent voice came from the orange glowing panel on her forearm. Suvi dropped her head against Sara's shoulder, trying to calm her racing heartrate and steady her breathing. Where exactly had that been going...?

"I really need to get rid of this thing…" Sara muttered. Suvi merely grunted in response, fingers brushing against the smooth skin they had recently discovered, finding the ridge of a small scar and following it. She felt Sara shiver faintly against her touch. What she wouldn't give to map those scars right now…

Sara kissed her head and, refusing to create any distance between them, activated the comms behind Suvi's back, sans video, and spoke over her shoulder. "Go ahead, Hayjer."

 _"Ghost Storm is ready."_


	13. Chapter 13

**A/N: I had the worst day so if you enjoy this, let me hear it!**

* * *

 _"Initiating Ghost Storm, on my mark… Three…Two…Go!"_

The Tempest engines dropped to almost no movement speed, to minimize detection, forcing the ship into a drift as a barrier rippled into life around it, shielding it from all scans. Kett ships passed them by, completely oblivious, drawn by the fake signals set up by Hayjer and the other Pathfinders.

At the Pathfinder's console Suvi stared up in amazement through the wide window as a dreadnought passed harmlessly overhead. "It's working…"

Kallo cranked the engines back up and jumped them closer to Khi Tasira to drop the ground team down at a potential control centre in a fly by.

And so, the waiting began. Suvi hated that side of the missions. Being able to hear what was happening and being powerless to help. She dropped into her seat, anxiously biting at the skin around her thumb as she watched over her glowing console.

Below the Tempest, on Khi Tasira, SAM detected a central command hub that required the activation of two nearby towers to come online. That central command hub was Meridian.

"Update the mission specs and just activate Meridian now?" Drack suggested, shifting his weight impatiently from foot to foot as he stared out over the walkways and towers of Meridian.

Sara grinned up at him, feeling a flutter of excitement. They could do this. End it today. "Sounds like a plan to me," she said. "Let's move out, guys!"

They fought their way to the towers, dispatching kett and Remnant alike as they activated first one tower and then the other. The sudden surge in power had garnered an alarmed message from Suvi as her scans of Khi Tasira showed a surprise hike in information gathered.

Sara opened the doors before them and they stepped forwards into a wide room with walkways that sloped upwards from the left and right to meet high above them behind a crackling stream of white-blue energy. Columns glowed with power, arching up into a vaulted ceiling.

"This is it," Drack rumbled, following Sara inside and swinging his great head from side to side to take in their surroundings, shotgun aimed forwards in case of enemies, "the command hub."

"Finally," Peebee said, turning her back on the energy stream to look upwards behind them. "This is amazing…"

Sara climbed the walkway, heading towards the console in the centre of the upper platform. Peebee and Drack made their way up shortly after, watching as Sara held a hand out over the interface and forced it to obey her. A blue hologram shimmered into existence above them, holding still a moment before glowing red.

" _Translating_ …" SAM said quietly. " _Connection lost. Meridian engine not found_."

"Well, that's not good…" Sara muttered. "SAM, is this something you can fix?" Peebee and Drack shifted restlessly beside her, glancing back behind them as though expecting an attack at any moment.

" _I'm sorry, Pathfinder_ ," SAM replied, " _systems are intact. But they are searching for a component that doesn't appear to exist_."

"What's that mean?" Peebee asked, glancing sideways at Sara and then frowning up at the hologram.

" _One moment. I have found something_ ," SAM said. They waited a beat, and then some kind of audio played, a soft voice, unfamiliar and speaking in an unknown language. " _Translating…Final administrator log: the opposition's weapon may cause widespread damage. All our weapons, our ships, will not be able to protect us, protect my goal. We need to disengage Meridian from command core, which will remain here to draw fire,"_ as he spoke the hologram changed, showing an image of Khi Tasira and some kind of sphere drifting apart, " _Meridian contains all the work of the Jardaan. Nothing else matters. I will send it far. We can return one day. Continue the process of renewal. End of log_." The images faded from sight.

Sara stared at the space the hologram had previously occupied, a sudden thought dawning.

"This isn't Meridian…" She said. "Meridian is gone!"

"Helpful," Drack spat. "What do we do now?"

As Sara turned to face him the floor heaved beneath her feet, rocking under some incredible blast. Explosions echoed through the buildings around them as the kett ships opened fire on the city.

"We gotta go!" Peebee cried, sliding into cover against the heavy metal panels jutting upwards from the walkway, serving as some kind of railing.

"I'm starting to feel like I'm terminally unlucky!" Sara grumbled, ducking down beside Peebee. "SAM? Plot us another course out of here."

" _There is no other way, Pathfinder_ ," SAM responded, his level tones at odds with the adrenaline coursing through Sara's veins, " _however, the remnant city is not without defences and this is its central command_."

Sara's eyes were drawn back to the console she had used to activate the hologram.

"Of course!" She cried, surging to her feet and sprinting forwards. "A brilliant idea! So glad I thought of it." She held out one hand over the console. "Okay, SAM, now!"

She felt power crackling at her fingertips as the light within the core before her built to a blinding intensity and snapped outwards, bringing the city to life around them. Turrets woke and found their targets, and began to focus on the invading kett forces, high-powered beams of light burning into thick hull plating and bringing down ships that crashed into the Remnant city and exploded with thuds that shuddered through the buildings.

Sara turned to Peebee and Drack, who had stood to watch her, grinning triumphantly. The moment was short lived. She registered movement from behind and below them, across the room at the doorway they had entered through. A muzzle flash, the report of a gun.

"Down!" She shouted, throwing herself into Peebee to knock the asari off her feet. As they crashed to the floor a bullet zipped by overhead.

"The archon wants that one," a kett shouted. Sara peered over the panelling she hid behind to see the kett, some kind of Destined clad in red tinted armour unlike those flanking it, pointing a clawed finger up at her. "Destroy the rest."

"Watch your backs, it's one of those that can cloak," Sara said, ducking back down as the kett split and raced up the ramps towards them. She pulled her sniper over her shoulder and popped back up over her cover, aiming at the leader and managing to squeeze off several shots that were eaten up by his shields as he advanced. She saw the tell-tale flicker as her final shot broke through the barriers and the kett disappeared from sight as his cloaking activated.

Sara growled in frustration. "Sneaky bastard."

"It's fine! Focus on his friends!" Peebee called out to her, throwing biotics at a kett soldier charging her with a shotgun and sending him skidding backwards along the floor towards Drack who promptly stomped down one powerful foot on his head, crushing his skull. "You know, a couple of those Remnant turrets would be real good in here right about now!"

"I'm not a miracle worker!" Sara replied.

She turned as she heard claws skittering against the metal floor behind her and activated her omni-blade, fist clenched and poised to strike as her eyes roved the ground before her, searching for the ripple of camouflage. She almost missed it, dragging her leg back mere seconds before the wraith's strong fangs snapped shut on the air where her shin had previously occupied. She lunged down with the blade, dropping to one knee to drive the hardened light deeper into the wraith's neck. The creature gurgled as bloody foam dripped from its jaws to the floor. Sara snapped off the blade in its neck and stood to survey her surroundings, watching for the Destined in the red armour.

She saw it materialise behind Drack, shotgun aimed at the krogan's back. Sara's eyes widened and she dropped to one knee, tipping her head to look through the crosshairs of her sniper. She could just see the kett's head behind Drack.

"Drack!" She shouted in warning, but Drack was already turning, raising his own shotgun to smash the butt into the kett's face. It staggered backwards, disorientated, and tried to cloak again, but Drack had pushed it back just far enough.

Sara squeezed the trigger and watched as her round hit the kett between the eyes with enough force to throw him from his feet. He hit the ground and stayed down.

"Clear," Peebee called.

"Nice shot, Ryder," Drack said, giving her a toothy krogan grin. Sara smiled as she returned her rifle to its holster against her right shoulder blade.

" _Ground team, is everyone all right?"_ Kallo's concerned voice came over the comms. Sara raised her arm and activated her omni-tool to respond.

"All good, Kallo," she said.

" _We saw everything from orbit…It was incredible!"_ Suvi told them excitedly. _"The entire city lit up, the scans went wild."_

" _And the kett are retreating,"_ Kallo added.

"Good," Sara said. "Gather the crew, we need to talk. About Meridian." She looked up at Peebee and Drack, cutting the comms connection and letting her arm drop to her side. "We'll figure this out."

* * *

Sara had been dreading the conversation with Tann ever since Suvi told her he requested the Pathfinder's presence at the vidcon. But she needn't have worried. He commended her, even going so far as saying she deserved the title of 'Pathfinder' and offered the full support of the Initiative for her next move.

Sara was still staring at the now dark vidcon in stunned silence when Suvi summoned her to the bridge with an idea on how to find Meridian.

"An unmanned ship is at the mercy of ocean currents," she explained as Sara watched the projection of Meridian hovering above Suvi's console, rotating slowly and glowing brightly. It bathed them both in blue light, reflected in Suvi's eyes as she spoke. "Now, think of Meridian as the ship, and the Scourge as the ocean. If we can somehow predict the currents and track them we could figure out where the ocean's taken the ship."

"That's genius!" Sara said, grinning at Suvi proudly. "You're a genius!"

Suvi looked away shyly. "It's not a precise analogy...But it illustrates the point."

Comparing current star charts with the six-hundred-year old charts from the Milky Way and collating data on the Scourge and its ever-shifting tides and currents would allow SAM to build them a predictive model to recalculate the path Meridian had taken.

They sent probes into key points of the Scourge to gather data which SAM analysed over a period of days and turned into hardware that could be uploaded to the Remnant city controls make the Remnant ships fly the same path Meridian had been carried along.

* * *

The Tempest dropped Sara, Peebee and Jaal down back in the remnant city as close to the override controls as possible. Just a handful of hostile Remnant blocked their path, and they were easily dispatched.

The last observer bot dropped to the floor with a loud clunk, single red eye fading to black as the robotics failed, torn apart by the rounds from Jaal's rifle. Sara strode forwards, barely pausing as the doors ahead of her grated slowly open.

"He we are," she muttered, eyes on the Remnant console ahead of them.

"Finally!" Peebee exclaimed, darting eagerly after her.

"SAM?" Sara asked.

" _All relevant data is queued for uplink_ ," the AI replied.

"Okay. Find us a path."

Suvi was thrilled to hear her hard work had paid off, listening in rapt silence as SAM narrated the images before the ground team. Meridian was a constructed Remnant planet, hollow. But, more importantly, they now knew where to find it.

And that was when the nightmare began.

" _Well, go team!"_ Sara's joking tone came over the comms. _"This is the day everyone in the Initiative hoped and worked for and i…nally paid off."_ Suvi frowned as a sputter of static interrupted Sara's words and the Tempest's connection to SAM and the ground team flickered.

"Um, Kallo…?"

" _Congratulations, Pathfinder."_ Her heart nearly stopped as she recognised the callous and calculating voice that reached them through their comms. A voice that shouldn't have been there. Icy fear crawled the length of her spine, made the fine hairs at the back of her neck prickle as they stood to attention in primal warning.

"Oh shite…" She whispered, feeling her heart begin to race. The Archon.

" _A great day for us all."_ The connection wavered again, static sputtering through the speakers. Kallo's hands flew over the controls as he attempted to stabilise it.

Sara grunted, hurt by some invisible force. Suvi felt a surge of panic.

" _SAM? Tempest? What is going_ _ **on**_ _?!"_ Her voice was strained, laced with pain, ending in an agonised scream.

"Kallo, what's happening?!" Suvi cried, staring at her controls in shock as they lit up with warning lights.

"It's the Archon," Kallo said in disbelief.

"I know that!" She snapped at him, fear merging with anger. The Archon spoke carefully over Sara's shouts of pain and despair, oblivious to the agony. Or revelling in it. It was like a knife twisting in Suvi's gut. Sara was down there, hurting, and she was up here, powerless to do _anything_ but listen. "Oh my God, Sara…" She whispered, hammering buttons, trying to get a response from SAM, from anything. The AI had grown suddenly silent. The Tempest had been cut off from SAM node on the Nexus.

 _Not again_ …

" _I let you find Meridian. And now I'll use your SAM to weaponize it."_ The Archon was gloating, laying out his plans to them in that terrifyingly steady voice. He knew he had beaten them, the arrogant bastard. He wanted them to suffer, to know they had failed, to know his plans. They had lead him to Meridian. When the galaxy fell it would be because of _them._

Sara uttered another cry of pain, sending a cold spike of dread burrowing through Suvi's heart. What was he _doing_ to her?!

" _Fall to darkness, Pathfinder. You were almost worthy."_

" _Ryder?!"_ Peebee's terrified shout. _"Tempest! Pathfinder, dow-"_ All at once the comms went dead. The following silence was almost deafening. Warning lights flashed across the console. Somewhere an alarm began to blare.

"Sara!" Suvi cried, feeling her heart hammering in her chest, painfully reminded of the last time she had heard Sara-God no. Please don't be dead, please don't be-

"Suvi, you can't help her if you panic," Kallo said forcefully. Suvi looked at him, found him staring right at her, black salarian eyes determined. He was right. "Kett have boarded the Hyperion. The ark sent out a distress signal but we've now lost contact with them too."

"He's going after Scott," she said needlessly. Focus on that, on the Hyperion, not the white noise fed back by the ground team.

Not on Sara.

Fear expanded in her chest like a balloon, constricted her throat. She swallowed hard, took a deep, shaking breath, kept her eyes on Kallo's seemingly calm face.

"Yes," he said, and looked back to his controls.

The door hissed open behind them.

"The Archon's fried comms," Gil announced as he ran onto the bridge, pausing in the middle of the room to stare at them in bewilderment.

"And he's locked out SAM," Kallo said. Gil swore.

"Can you fix it?" Suvi asked him desperately, twisting round in her chair to look at him. _Don't think about it. Don't think about what's happening down there. Don't think about it until you_ _ **know**_ _._

"They don't call me genius for nothing!" Gil said, striding over to the console behind Kallo's chair. He immediately began working on bypassing the Archon's attack.

"We don't call you that," Kallo shot back, jumping in surprise as his console flashed a message at him. "That was a pulse from SAM node!" He exclaimed. "The Hyperion is moving…FTL coordinates suggest Saajor System. Meridian."

"The Archon…" Suvi said. "He must have found Scott." That had been fast… Sara would be devastated. If Sara lived. She bit her lower lip, swallowing the hard lump that had formed in her throat. Sara _had_ to live. For Suvi.

A burst of static came through the comms speakers.

"Gil, you did it!" She cried, leaping out of her chair to hug him, kiss him, whatever. He had restored communication to the ground team!

"Not quite…" Gil said gruffly, fighting with something within the Tempest's computer systems. "He's changed frequency and tried to lock me out, the bastard. Okay, try it?" He spoke over his shoulder to Kallo. The salarian pilot held down the comms control, opening the link to Sara.

Suvi held her breath and waited.

"Tempest to ground team, do you copy?" He spoke carefully and clearly. There was no reply save interference. Suvi stood in the centre of the room watching Gil like a hawk as he worked, fingers pressed to her mouth as she chewed her lower lip raw. She could feel her pulse throbbing in her neck, adrenaline coursing through her veins and causing her extremities to feel numb. _Please, God, don't let her die_.

"Try it now," Gil said, turning away from the console.

"Pathfinder? …Come on…"

" _We're here, Tempest."_ Sara's voice was weak and so unlike her. But Suvi didn't care. Sara was talking. Relief flooded her in a heady rush that set her digits tingling after the chill of adrenaline. She let her breath out in a rush.

"Yes!" Gil punched the air triumphantly.

"Ohmygosh, you're a genius!" Suvi told him, stumbling forwards. Gil grinned and opened his arms to accept a hug from her, but Suvi rushed right passed him.

"I got her!" Kallo cried excitedly, turning to face them. "I got-hey!" Suvi seized the controls, knocking him aside in her sudden need to speak with Sara.

"Sara, you're okay!" She cried, forcing back tears at the relief she felt.

" _Apparently,"_ Sara replied. She could hear the smile in the Pathfinder's voice, knew it would be crooked. The teasing smile she loved so much.

"Thank God…" Suvi breathed, allowing herself a moment to drink that in before speaking again. "Kett took down the comms and hijacked the Hyperion."

" _I know,"_ Sara said grimly.

" _Have Lexi ready,"_ Peebee interrupted them. _"Sara's hurt, and…There's some weirdness."_

"Oh shite," Suvi muttered, relief replaced by worry once again.

* * *

Suvi was first down the ramp when the ground crew finally approached the Tempest, with Lexi following behind in a close second. She crashed straight into Sara's open arms, not caring when the rigid armour made for a much harder impact than usual, knocking the breath from her lungs. Sara rocked back on her heels from the force of it, arms wrapping tight around Suvi.

"Could you _please_ stop dying?!" She cried, hands cupping Sara's cheeks. The Pathfinder looked much paler than usual, her skin felt clammy, but that damn mischievous spark was still in her eyes. It made Suvi smile when she felt like crying.

"Hey, it's not _my_ fault," she grinned down at her, dropping her hands at Suvi's waist.

"I'm with Suvi here," Lexi said, already dialling up the medical scanner on her omni-tool. "You need to stop doing this. I don't think my heart can take much more of it."

"Nice to see you too," Sara quipped. "Any news on the Hyperion?" Kallo's response over comms resulted in an argument breaking out amongst the crew that had left the ship to greet the returning party.

" _You got the last signal before the Archon locked it down_ ," the salarian said.

"We're not letting that stand. Be ready to move," Liam growled, already turning away to head back into the ship.

"Wait, we need a plan," Cora threw her arm in front of Liam to stop him. He paused to look sideways at her with one eyebrow raised.

"Stop ship, kill jerk!" Peebee spread her arms wide in exasperation.

"With what?!" Cora snapped, rounding on the asari.

"Maybe we're outgunned, but there's always a way," Sara said over Suvi's shoulder, but the crew wasn't listening. She rolled her eyes and glanced away, and froze suddenly when her eyes fell on an object nearby. "There's…A way…"

Sara broke away from Suvi, blue eyes on the Remnant console and an idea slowly formed. Suvi let her go, watching curiously and saying nothing.

"He's got the Hyperion!" Vetra was saying. "That's _how_ many thousand hostages?"

"How many worlds does he destroy if we don't move?" Drack countered.

"And how many do we save if we get ourselves killed?" Cora shot back.

"Well, we have to do something, right?" Peebee asked desperately.

"I know!" Cora cried. "But the Tempest is one ship, and she isn't even armed!"

The boom that resonated around them halted the raised voices as everyone turned to look in the direction it had come from. Gears ground, long dead systems came to life, flickering with light. A Remnant fleet rose up around them, massive strangely shaped ships with glowing cores, and tiny fighter ships that zipped around their larger counterparts like flocks of deadly birds. Sara stood at the console watching it all unfold in wonder, trying to ignore the resultant throbbing pain in her skull. It felt like an ice pick was drilling its way through her brain, and the edge of her vision began to blur.

 _Damn, I did that…_ She thought to herself, watching a fleet of alien ships wake up at her command.

"You…did an impossible thing…" Peebee was awestruck, making her way slowly over to stand beside Sara, wide eyes glued to the huge ship hovering before them like some bizarre floating skyscraper.

"Can you keep that up?" Cora asked, stood on Sara's other side and craning her neck to watch the ship. "Make them fight for us?" She looked to Sara.

The blinding pain in her head stopped her from answering. A sharp ache that went deep and stole her breath, like her head was stuck in a vice that slowly crushed it. Cora took her reply in the dribble of crimson blood that threaded its way from Sara's nose and down her chin. Sara wiped it away onto her glove, took a deep breath through her mouth to steady herself and turned to face her expectant crew.

"I just pulled a front line out of thin air," she needlessly stated, looking at each crew member in turn. They met her gaze steadily, confused and impressed by the display of power. "Is this where I give a speech? Ask you to die for me? No thanks. I say we shove the Remnant down the Archon's throat and maybe that buys us a chance. _All_ of us. We get the _whole_ cluster to pile in. Everyone in Heleus has earned some fucking payback."


	14. Chapter 14

**A/N: The end is nigh! Just epilogue after this chapter :O Hope you enjoy it!**

* * *

The Bridge was empty for once. Quiet. The silence was strange. But then the tense charge in the air at that moment was just as strange and unnerving. They stood upon the precipice. The moment before it was all decided. They were fast approaching Meridian, chasing down the Archon's fleet, the Hyperion with its 20, 000 hostages on board. And Scott. The means for the Archon to weaponize Meridian whether Scott wanted to or not.

It made Suvi feel sick, standing at the Pathfinder's controls peering through the wide window that wrapped the bridge and offered an unobstructed view outside as space flashed by around them in streams of light, distorted by FTL travel. Bringing them closer and closer to the final battle. She glanced back as she heard the door open and footsteps approached, boots on metal, to see Sara limping towards her. She had taken off her armour but still wore her jump suit, the protective fabric that went beneath the armour plates.

"You have such a way with words," Suvi said with a half smile, turning to face her properly. "I mean, you made me want to go charging into battle. Me!" She touched a finger to her chest for emphasis.

Sara gave her a tired smile. "I don't think that's such a great idea, do you?" She teased her, coming to a halt in front of her. "I still haven't shown you how to handle a gun."

"Oh…" Suvi blushed, realising Sara was talking about one of the first times they had spoken, when she had overenthusiastically agreed to shooting lessons. "I thought you'd forgotten about that…"

"How could I forget our first conversation?" Sara reached out to brush the tips of her still-gloved fingers down Suvi's arm before linking their fingers. Suvi looked from their conjoined hands up into the weary face of the Pathfinder. Blood was still crusted around one nostril from the effort of using Remtech without the aid of SAM, and her skin was still pale. She had _died. Again._ And yet Andromeda demanded more. Suvi swallowed hard, feeling her stomach clench. That Sara may not come back from this had become very real to her. And it wasn't fair. They had so much more to give to each other. She had already heard her die twice. And maybe a third time would be more…final.

They needed more time…

"I know what you just went through," she said softly, squeezing Sara's hand. "And I know you're still hurting and this…this is going to take more from you," Sara watched her intently, saying nothing. "Promise you'll come back to me?"

"Ah…" Sara looked like she was seriously considering all of her options, shifting her weight from one foot to the other as she gave Suvi a wry smile. "Well, now, this is awkward." Suvi blinked, having not expected to hear that. Just as she was wondering whether or not she should be insulted Sara spoke up again, "I thought I'd stick with the Archon instead. You know, with the sexy basketball-hoop head and the fabulous cape-"

"Sara!" Suvi gasped and shoved her shoulder, but couldn't help laughing at the silly grin Sara gave her.

"Jeez, of course I'll come back to you!" Sara said, moving her hands to Suvi's waist and pulling her flush against her body. "There's no where else I'd rather be." Suvi brought both hands up to Sara's face, brushing her thumbs against her high cheek bones.

"Promise me," She begged, ocean eyes desperate.

Sara knew the time for joking was over and paused a second to look into those eyes, to really look and drink them in perhaps for the last time, before answering.

"I promise," she murmured and kissed her softly, pouring everything she could into it. Every ounce of emotion and longing she could muster.

Suvi held it for as long as she could before they finally broke apart, both gasping for breath. Sara rested her forehead against Suvi's, savouring the moment while she could.

"Sara…" Suvi said after a moment. She wanted to ask her not to go, to stay with her forever, but that would be selfish. So many people were depending on the Pathfinder…

"If you ask me to stay I will," Sara warned her, somehow reading her expression.

Suvi smiled sadly. "You'd best get ready," she said, stepping back.

"Guess so," Sara sighed, letting her hands drop to her sides. "I mean, it's not like the fate of the entire galaxy rests on my shoulders or anything…" She smiled crookedly, looked like she was about to say something more, thought better of it and turned away, walking towards the door.

It wasn't goodbye. So, she wouldn't say goodbye. She turned back to Suvi as the door opened and walked backwards though it. "When I get back I'll show you how to fire a gun."

"I'll hold you to it," Suvi told her.

* * *

The Archon hadn't seemed rattled in the slightest to find the Tempest appearing before him with a surprise remnant fleet in tow, accompanied by Initiative pilots. Sara felt a twinge of disappointment that her epic arrival hadn't received any reaction, but pushed it away. There were more pressing matters.

She ignored the Archon's stupid face floating on a screen before her, focussed on the person she knew was behind him somewhere, out of sight.

"Scott, you okay?"

"Dandy," Scott replied. "He wants to exult everyone. If Heleus doesn't submit, he'll destroy entire planets."

The conversation ended abruptly as the Archon unleashed his fleet against her, barely concealing a snarl as he did so. Okay, so maybe the arrival of the Tempest and their small army _had_ upset him.

Sara watched as the ships around her reacted to the incoming barrage of heavy fire and kett fighters charging forwards and a dogfight broke out around them.

"That's…More than we thought," Suvi commented nervously, eyes tracking ships and the staccato flashing of small laser canons.

"It's fine. We got this," Sara replied confidently. Inwardly she had to agree. It didn't look good. They were outnumbered. The Archon had everything he wanted from hostages to a SAM implant. The Remnant and Initiative forces were trapped between the kett and the glowing tendrils of the Scourge.

As she watched, threads of the Scourge wove their way outwards, following the path of one of the Remnant ships as it chased a kett fighter ship. Her eyes widened as an idea sparked.

"Kallo, how close can you edge the Scourge?"

"Too close!" Kallo's voice climbed several octaves and he looked at her as though she were mad. "Why?"

"Bring us in close. We're going to use the cluster's biggest headache to our advantage." She turned back to the window with a small smirk as Kallo piloted them expertly as close to the Scourge as he dared. As expected, with the Remnant grouping around them the scourge burned a path through the darkness reaching for the alien tech and forming a natural barrier against the kett forces.

Kallo leaned back in his chair and laughed, turning to Sara with a triumphant grin.

"Get the Hyperion," Sara said, and saw Suvi open a comms channel. Seconds later a grainy image of the Archon filled the space before her. "Archon!" Sara greeted him warmly. "Don't blame your people. This clusterfuck is all you."

His demeanour remained icy cool, but Sara saw the tight set to his lips. Knew beneath the calm he was filled with rage.

" _You wish to force my hand?"_ He asked her quietly. _"So be it."_ He turned away, moving out of sight but still speaking. _"Unlike you and the Pathfinder I do not require an implant…I have yours,"_ Scott's scream of agony echoed around the Tempest's bridge. Sara felt like she had swallowed a bucket of ice. _"You've made this much more difficult, Pathfinder. But not for me."_

The transmission ended.

"Sara…" Suvi started, watching the profile of the Pathfinder. Sara stood rigid, staring out at the Scourge as Kallo navigated his way through to Meridian.

"Get after him," she said stiffly. White light engulfed the Archon's ship as Meridian opened to admit him. Kallo put on an extra burst of speed and dived after him. Blinding light obscured their view, fading finally to reveal blue skies and fluffy white clouds, soaring mountains and lush green plains and verdant forests. Sara felt her jaw grow slack, unable to comprehend the beautiful landscape before her.

"Suvi…?" She murmured. "What am I looking at?"

"A wonder?" Suvi replied in a tone that indicated she was just as awestruck as Sara.

The ship lurched and Sara grabbed a hold of the console before her as they went into freefall. She stared sideways at Kallo, feeling her stomach climb its way to her throat. Warning lights flared red and an alarm began buzzing.

"Sorry! Gravity's inverted!" The salarian said as his hands frantically moved over the controls before him. The Tempest engines flared to life and brought them back out of the dive and levelled them out.

Sara pushed away from the Pathfinder controls as Suvi began hunting for the Hyperion's trail via scans, and left the bridge to meet the rest of the crew around the Nomad in the hold.

* * *

There was no time to scout for a suitable area to land. They would have to land the Nomad from the air.

"Hot drop in five…four…three…" The Nomad ejected from the Tempest and plummeted towards the ground for several long seconds before it crashed down with a bone-jarring thud, heavy tyres churning the dirt as they skidded forward.

Sara stared through the windshield in awe.

"Holy-"

"No time for sight-seeing, kid," Drack said.

"Right…" Sara slammed pedal to the metal and they took off, tyres screeching and throwing up clouds of dirt in their wake. High above them in the near-distance the Hyperion hovered, dwarfing the ships that surrounded it. As they watched a kett shuttle detached from the ark, flanked by two kett fighter ships. The Archon. And Scott.

" _Sa-Pathfinder, the Hyperion's nav-dead, that's why we lost it!"_ Suvi called over comms. _"Looks like manoeuvring thrusters only."_

"The Archon's betting we won't chase him with the ark at risk," Sara replied, a bitter taste in her mouth. Would she have to sacrifice tens of thousands to save millions?

" _We'll guard the Hyperion,"_ an unexpected turian voice joined the conversation.

"Kandros?!" Sara cried in surprise. "Who's with you?"

" _The invitation was open,"_ came a second voice, almost taunting her, _"Unless you're refusing Kadara's help?"_ Sara's eyes almost dropped out of her skull they opened so wide. Sloane Kelly?!

" _We hold the kett, you secure Meridian_ ," Efvra's voice joined the others. Sara felt a swell of pride. So many had joined the call for aid, lending their force to hers.

"Let's find the Archon," she said with a grin that was lost inside her helmet. Drack punched the back of her seat, whether in solidarity or excitement at the prospect of a grand battle, she wasn't sure, but it almost launched her through the reinforced windscreen.

Shuttles and ships soared overhead to meet the kett in battle as the Nomad raced through a rocky canyon, following the path taken by the Archon. A kett ship was engulfed in flame as fire from an Initiative ship ripped through the engines, and Sara swerved as it dropped out of the sky and exploded on impact with the ground. Shrapnel rained down on the Nomad with a series of harmless thuds.

The shadowy canyon gave way to a vast open plain with Remnant structures rising up from the mist at the distant edges and mountains ahead. A huge kett ship drifted into view ahead of them. Sara felt her stomach clench nervously.

"Uh…That's not the Hyperion…"

" _Kett are deploying to defend the Archon, get in close,"_ Kandros ordered.

" _He's right! Mix with the ground troops. The big ship can't fire on you!"_ Kallo said.

Drack gave a derisive snort. "Like they care who they hit."

"Not sure we have a choice," Sara said, gunning the engine. The Nomad hit a rock, gained air, crashed back down. Vetra braced against the dash, shooting Sara a look but saying nothing.

" _Structures ahead, Pathfinder,"_ Suvi said, _"and major energy signals. I'm no SAM but that's got to be some kind of control."_

They entered another canyon, this time bordered by rows of tall black remnant columns. Sara peered up at them curiously as they passed.

The canyon ended in a sheer drop to a wide field dotted with rocks and trees with a remnant structure at the far end. As the Nomad landed some kind of energy field triggered and disabled the engine. Sara paused as the controls before her went dead.

"Well. Guess we're continuing on foot," she said, and punched the emergency locks on the doors. They disengaged and she shoved her door up and out, clambering out of the Nomad and dropping onto Meridian soil.

"The Archon's not getting Meridian," Drack growled, jumping down beside her. "Nuff said."

Kett ground troops blocked the way forwards. They battled through with the aid of Kandros, Efvra and Sloane and their respective forces providing air support. They cleared the way to the building and Sara activated the door. As the gears ground and the panels split kett ships began to fire on them. Sara ducked behind a rock as the projectiles struck the wall nearby, sheering off chunks of stone and leaving the ragged edges glowing red. Three kett fighters were flying towards them, trying to keep them out of Meridian's core. Then she heard weapons fire in a different pitch to the kett guns. A kett ship slammed into the ground and exploded nearby, black smoke billowing upwards. She risked a look over her cover to see an Initiative shuttle engaging the kett, Pathfinder Hayjer firing through the open doors as Moshae Sjefer protected him with a barrier.

" _Move inside, Pathfinder,"_ he said. _"We'll hold the line out here, keep them off the Hyperion. You take this to the Archon."_

"Count on it, Pathfinder," Sara said, eyes on the shuttle as she moved inside with Drack and Vetra.

Inside was a long black tunnel, overgrown in places with vines that had somehow crept inside, at the end of which glowed the white light of an active gravity well. They pressed forwards, dropping down the well.

* * *

The Archon had left kett forces behind to keep them at bay but they were being attacked by Meridian's Remnant guardians. Efvra, Kandros, and Sloane had followed Sara inside to help. As the area was cleared the Tempest ground crew moved on, delving deeper into Meridian and leaving their allies behind to hold the rear.

" _Pathfinder, multiple systems failure on board the Hyperion,"_ Suvi's grave voice informed them. Sara slowed to a halt, feeling dread settle over her with a chill. If the Hyperion went down…

"Dammit," she muttered, bringing up her arm and opening a channel to the bridge of the Hyperion. "Dunn? Is there anything we can do?"

" _Stay out of our way,"_ Dunn ordered. _"There's no pulling up. This is the captain,"_ she addressed the ark. _"I need everyone to cryo. Go! Go! Go. I'm rerouting power to all medbay inertials. I can give us one shot."_ Sara heard the waver in her voice as Dunn accepted her fate.

" _I can shield the bridge-"_ Pathfinder Sarissa started.

" _The sleepers take priority,"_ Dunn replied with steel in her voice. _"All hands brace. And it's been an honour to se-"_ she was cut short by a shout of pain.

Even deep below the surface they heard the ship strike Meridian soil, felt the impact rumbling through rock overhead.

Sara heard her pulse throbbing in her ears, staring at the orange glow of her omni-tool. She raised her eyes to find Drack and Vetra both watching her, mirroring her own look of nervous anticipation.

"Captain Dunn?" She asked. Got nothing but dead air. "Captain Dunn!"

The silence seemed to stretch forever.

" _Present,"_ Dunn spoke a moment later, sounding dazed but alive. _"All cryo pods intact."_

Sara let out a soft breath and dropped the signal.

"Okay. Well, that landing just made our stake in Meridian permanent."

"Got it," Vetra nodded her head and cocked her rifle.

"Move out."

* * *

They pushed through the Archon's forces until they stumbled across another gravity well. Sara exchanged a look with Vetra and Drack before activating it.

"Going down…"

"This place is huge," Vetra said, watching as the floor rushed up to meet them.

" _Do it! Secure the adaptation matrix!"_ Sara stumbled as she was settled softly onto the ground by the well. The Archon's voice made her heart lurch.

"What? How is he still on our channel?" Vetra demanded.

"He's in Scott's head," Sara said, "we're…connected."

"Oh…" Vetra replied. "Fun."

Sara looked up at the turian, an expression on her face that made her look as though she had swallowed a bee.

"Come on…" She muttered, turning and heading along the corridor in front of them and trying to ignore the way her skin was crawling at having the Archon inside her head once more. She swiftly brought up her sniper as she spied an observer hovering in the shadows further along the corridor but it paid her no heed. "What the hell…?"

"Looks like it's pointing the way," Drack said, eyeing it up as he stomped past.

"That can't be the Archon…" Sara said.

"What gave that away?" Vetra asked sarcastically.

Sara ignored her. "Maybe it's Scott?"

Ahead the pathway split both left and right. Sara started left, halted as that doorway closed and locked itself. She glanced right, towards another door, and the heavy panels opened.

"Uh…"

" _Prepare to repeat the cortical stimulus."_ At the Archon's voice Sara sprinted right.

" _Get out of my head!"_ Scott moaned through grit teeth. Sara felt it like a kick in the gut.

"We're coming, Scott…" She murmured, skidding to a halt in the next room and spinning wildly until she saw a door opening and raced for that one as the others closed around them. Drack and Vetra rushed wordlessly after her.

" _You are irrelevant. I will use your connection."_

The door closed behind them with a clang that echoed through the corridors. More Remnant pointed the way, standing in lines either side of the corridor and facing in the same direction. Sara followed the signs without stopping to think, working on instinct alone now. Her brother was in danger. His screams filled her head. Along with the Archon's emotionless voice.

Another gravity well, this one carrying them through miles of Remnant architecture. Any other time it would have whipped Sara into a hyperactive frenzy, sent her eagerly scampering around exploring. Not now. Her mind was focussed on one goal. Get to Scott.

A bridge lead them forwards, towards…something.

"Meridian control?" Sara asked rhetorically as they ran forwards.

"Let's find out," Drack said, pumping his shotgun.

" _The connection is ready. I can feel it. There…Meridian…The network…So close!"_

Sara forced the doorway blocking their path open and they sprinted through, slowing to a walk as they found themselves crossing a narrow walkway through a river of the unknown Remnant gel that seemed to fill all vaults. Kett rushed along a second walkway above and to their right. Ahead of them sat the Meridian core, a mass of towering remnant columns that stood together amongst conductors and cables that shone with blue light, not yet active. The Archon stood at the top with Scott and two other kett. Loose cables hung down from the ceiling all around them.

"It arrives," the Archon sneered, watching them approach. "This attempt to rival me is no longer amusing, Pathfinder."

Sara gave him a cocky smirk.

"It is a little bit."

"Hey, Sara," Scott said, voice straining. "Get my clues?"

"Loud and clear, Scott," Sara smiled proudly at her brother.

"Tried to keep him distracted," Scott said. "It was…hit and miss."

The Archon whirled to face him, enraged that he had been tricked. He forced himself to remain calm.

"So determined, but so pointless. Your connection serves me," he reminded Scott, gesturing to his soldiers as he turned away. "I know how it works. The mind is trained to think like the Remnant creators. In this case, painfully." The Archon's floating drone drifted over to Scott, scanning him, pulling the data from his mind. Scott grit his teeth, swallowing his grunts of pain. The kett surrounding the Archon attached the hanging cables to the Archon's back, linking him physically to the core. "But I'm content to let him bare that burden. Whatever gives me Meridian. I will transcend what you pretend to be."

"You _really_ love the sound of your own voice," Sara said, shaking her head. "You're out of time, Archon. You've failed."

He held his arms out to his sides, tipping his head to regard her pitifully, a god observing a subject.

"You learn by accident." The cables attaching him to the core began to crackle and spark with electricity. "I am the genetic inheritor of a thousand species." He crossed his arms over his chest as the power built within him. "No more mercy."

Sara watched in horror as he was lifted from the ground to hover high above the core. The rows of columns surrounding Scott and the kett began to slowly rise and fall in rhythm, waking from their slumber with a humming that resonated through the room.

"Kill them all."

The kett turned to face them.

"Take cover!" Sara said, throwing herself sideways and finding cover just in time. The area she had just vacated exploded with kett rounds. "He's still using Scott's implant," she told Drack and Vetra as they huddled behind a pile of kett crates and the kett pounded towards them across the network of walkways between them and the core.

"Can they survive drawing this much power?" Drack asked.

"I only care about one of them," Sara replied, vaulting the crates and barrelling forwards, surprising two kett. A bolt of electricity from her omni-tool arced between them. She smashed the butt of her sniper in the face of one, dropping him to his knees, fired into the face of the other at point-blank range, then finished off the first with her omni-blade.

"I can't keep this up," Scott groaned, "stop him!"

"Working on it, Scott!" Sara replied, ducking into an alcove to reload while Drack threw himself bodily into the midst of the kett and began whaling on them with his fists. Sara peered out and threw herself backwards as an Ascendant threw a wall of deadly energy in her direction. "Really?!"

"I'll take out the orb!" Vetra shouted from where she had somehow managed to cross the room and get behind the kett. She drew the Ascendant's attention as Drack threw kett from walkways, tossing them aside as though they weighed nothing. Sara braced against the wall and took aim at the Ascendant, lining up his head in her crosshairs. She saw Vetra's rounds sparking off the metal casing of the orb generating his shields.

"C'mon, Vetra…" Sara murmured. Drack suddenly crashed into the Ascendant, taking it by surprise. He grabbed the Orb and crushed it between his powerful claws with a roar. The shield powered down.

Sara didn't hesitate. She squeezed the trigger, drilling a round into the back of the Ascendant's head. Green blood arced through the air as he crumpled to the ground.

"Oh no, no, no! He's…Shit-he has access!" Scott called out. Sara whipped round to face Scott and the core and the Archon doing his weird puppet impersonation.

"I can see the network…" The Archon said in awe, eyes darting between sights only he could see. "They were architects of life…You commanded nothing!"

"I made the cluster liveable for thousands!" Sara retorted.

"No. You have lead your people to their deaths!" The Archon brought his knees up to his chest, snapped his limbs outwards with a roar as a surge of power rippled outwards.

A remnant architect burst upwards from somewhere beneath the walkway in front of the core, anchoring itself in front of the Archon.

"Oh crap…" Sara grumbled before giving a startled cry when one of the architect's heavy limbs slammed down on the platform she, Drack and Vetra stood on. The walkway collapsed and they slid down towards the core, landing in a painful tangle of limbs. Sara clawed her way into cover, thanking every god and goddess she had ever heard of that Drack hadn't landed on top of her.

"Sara, wait! The Archon's drawing too much power!" Scott cried.

"Little busy!" Sara called back, eyeing up the architect above them.

"It's all going straight through him," Scott replied. "Shut down the interfaces and he'll have nothing to draw. You'll take Meridian out from under him."

It was as good a plan as any. She could see her twin was in agony, but desperate times called for desperate measures.

"Get me targets!"

A legion of Remnant materialised along the platforms.

"You had to say it…" Vetra sighed. Drack erupted into gleeful laughter and charged amongst them. "Go interface, we'll hold off the Remnant."

Sara waited for the turian to join Drack, then raced for the navpoint Scott had marked for her, blinking on her helmet visor. She kept low as she ran, her shields taking minimal hits, and skidded to a halt beside the console.

It was still locked down.

"Uh, Scott…?" Sara said, turning to sweep the area. Drack and Vetra still had the remnant occupied but it wouldn't be long before one of them spotted her.

"The Archon's resisting me," Scott grunted, voice tight with pain. "I don't have your practice."

" _Assisting_." The softly spoken AI voice in her head made Sara jump.

"SAM?!"

" _I am still restricted, but the more Remnant you destroy, the more fractured the Archon's attention_."

"On it!" Sara replied, bunkering down by the console and aiming across the room at a Remnant assembler bot.

Scott finally managed to expose the relay. Sara reached up to interface with it, watching nervously as a nullifier clanked across the floor towards her. She felt the console give under her command and rolled away, coming up on her knees and firing at the Remnant. A grenade rolled across the floor and detonated behind it, blowing it to pieces.

"Heard you could use a hand!"

"What?" Sara glanced towards the shout to see Peebee, Jaal, Cora and Liam sliding down the broken platform to join them.

"Can't let you have _all_ the fun," Liam said, as Cora was already hurling biotics at a group of breachers.

"Keep the Remnant busy!" Sara said, going after the next relay. After disabling that one Scott opened a third for her, voice growing weaker with each communication.

Sara herself was running on adrenaline alone. "Relay down!" She called, ducking behind the console as an observer took aim at her. The high-powered beam lasered through the ground at her feet. Vetra took it out with a well-placed shot and it dropped into the abyss it had been hovering over. "Tell me how to bring this all home!"

"One more," Scott replied, gasping for breath. "Just…One?" The strain in his voice, the way it faded into a question, closed an iron fist around her heart.

"Scott? Scott?!" Nothing.

" _We are out of time, Pathfinder. Hurry_." SAM told her. Sara saw the final console and made a mad dash for it as the architect sent a spray of bullets her way, leaping over a chasm and darting past Remnant. She skidded to a halt and reached a hand over the controls, straining to bend the alien technology to her will.

Sensing the change in Meridian the Archon began reaching over his shoulders to rip out the cables linking him to the core, dropping them and reaching for the next. He twisted in the air, three-fingered hands grasping at the lines to tug them free, crying out in pain as they sparked.

Pain lanced through Sara's skull, causing her to scream as she leaned over the console.

And then power surged, crackling between the towers around the core.

The Archon reached for another cable but it was too late. The overload ran through his body, killing him instantly. The lingering Remnant staggered and fell, dead where they lay. The architect dropped back down into the depths it had come from with a mechanical roar of dismay.

They had done it. The Archon was dead. Meridian was theirs.

The core grew silent. The Archon's lifeless form hung suspended by the final cable high above them, until that snapped with a loud crack and he crashed down to the ground with a sickening thud.

" _Pathfinder, Meridian is online_." Sam said just as brilliant white light filled the room. Machinery came to life around them with a deep vibrating humming that echoed through the endless chambers, lights blinking on one after the other as the core came online.

"I can't believe it," Sara whispered, staring around herself in wonder, "we actually did it."

"Yeah, yeah, pat yourself on the back later," Drack said, resting his shotgun on one shoulder. "We've still gotta get out of here."

"Did we win?"

"Scott!" Sara dashed to her brother's side as he regained consciousness, closing the distance between them in mere seconds. He stared around himself in confusion, taking in the churning Rem tech, the threads of bright light climbing the walls, the crumpled Remnant lying still on the ground in pieces. There was no more gun fire, no more explosions. And then his eyes fell on the Archon's corpse.

"We won?"

"Yeah, we won." Sara couldn't help a smile at the disbelief in his tone, mirroring her own. She holstered her rifle and reached out for her brother. "Can you stand?" Scott nodded, throwing an arm around her shoulders as she looped her arm around his chest.

"Yeah, I think so," he grunted, leaning heavily on her to do so. "Ah…ah-okay, pain." He winced.

"Okay?" Sara asked worriedly.

"Okay," he replied, letting out a low breath and taking a tentative step forwards.

"Come on, you two," Liam said, pulling Scott's free arm around his shoulders to offer him support on his other side. "We've got a party to get to. Maybe this time there'll be champagne…"

* * *

The light outside was dazzling after the gloom of being deep underground for so long. They blinked as they left the shadow of the core, making their way towards the group that had gathered to greet them. The kett had been beaten back into a hasty retreat after realising their Archon had failed. The Tempest had landed nearby. Kandros, Hayjer and the Moshae had congregated with the remaining Tempest crew members at the entrance to the Meridian core.

Lexi rushed forwards to meet Sara, taking Scott aside to tend to his injuries as he looked ready to collapse at any moment.

"Sara!"

She grinned to see Suvi striding towards her, fiddling with something on her omni-tool. "I'm getting insane readings from all over the cluster! What you've done is…it's just amazing!" She barely looked up from the information being fed back to her.

"Aha," Sara said in amusement, standing with her hands on her hips as she watched Suvi gush over the data rather than her-the hero of the hour. "Put the omni-tool down, Suvi. You can look at that later."

"Look at all this data!" Suvi cried excitedly, apparently not listening. "The energy spikes from the biogenesis alone are-" she paused as Sara pressed a finger to her lips and finally looked up, meeting her steady gaze, "…Mind boggling…" She finished softly. Sara smiled fondly, eager to get her reward for saving the day.

"I know I can't compete with your first love, but…" She placed a hand at the back of Suvi's neck and pulled her in, lips crashing together in a passionate kiss that Suvi gladly returned while wrapping Sara in a tight embrace that she felt she would never release her from. The armour was hard and uncomfortable, and Sara smelled of dust and smoke and sweat, but it was the most intense kiss she had ever experienced. Suvi wouldn't change it for anything. Craved more.

Peebee let out a loud wolf whistle.

"I did that!" She cried, pointing to them while looking around at the gathered crowd to find someone paying attention to her.

"I'm sure you didn't." Jaal chuckled beside the asari, watching the _very_ public display of affection for a moment before turning away from them and looking expectantly into the gathering crowd. "Now, what is this…'champagne' Liam spoke of?"

Chest heaving, Sara broke their kiss to rest her forehead against Suvi's with a soft smile.

"Told you I'd come back."

* * *

 **A/N: Next week will have a double update, hopefully on time, so look out for that :P**


	15. Epilogue part 1

The final fight had taken a lot out of Scott and he had slipped into a coma. Sara had been frantic, but Lexi's medical scans showed no lasting damage, and he woke again several days after the initial festivities and celebrations of finding a home in Andromeda. They were alive, the Archon was dead, Meridian was theirs. The parties would be continuing for a _long_ time.

Similarly, Sara needed time to recover from the ordeal too. Using the Remnant technology without the aid of SAM had hurt her, thankfully not permanently. Still. Lots of bedrest and taking things slow. It had been difficult getting her to adhere to those rules unless Suvi was there keeping an eye on her.

Sara was currently in the medical bay of the Ark Hyperion-still fully functional and in use after it's less-than-ideal landing in Meridian-undergoing a check-up. Suvi still wasn't sure how Lexi had managed to convince Sara to go in for it. Sara had been insisting she was fine for days, that the initial once-over from the asari doctor immediately after her return from Meridian had revealed nothing amiss and now she was wasting time when there were plenty of other patients. However she did it, Lexi had Sara in the medbay, along with Scott, who was disgruntled to find he was still confined to a bed. The Ryder twins certainly were a handful.

Suvi walked the busy corridors of the downed ark, heading for the medbay and the Ryders, datapad in hand. She had been outside, taking in the wonders of Meridian, studying the information her omni-tool gathered. She still couldn't quite believe what she was seeing, even now. A whole viable planet, _created_. It was…astounding. Excitement was fast turning to nerves as she neared the medbay. Scott had been awake for a couple of days now, but this was to be her first time meeting him. She had no idea what to expect, beyond the handful of stories Sara had told her. From those she gathered he rarely took anything seriously and enjoyed teasing his sister.

As she entered the medbay she saw Sara sat cross legged on the bed nearest the door, sipping from an Initiative mug. Steam curled upwards from the drink it held. Coffee, Suvi suspected. It seemed to be Sara's go-to hot drink, though she was actively trying to turn the Pathfinder towards tea instead. Sara grinned as she saw the redhead pass through the open doors.

"And how is Meridian?" She asked, leaning back on one hand and looking up at her as Suvi approached the bed.

"Amazing!" Suvi gushed, and opened her mouth to explain further, about energy levels and plant life and soil composition, when a voice spoke up from the next bed over.

"Why, hello!" She glanced over to see a young man very definitely related to Sara struggling to sit up with a wide grin on his face. Lexi pushed him back down without even looking up from the readouts on her omni-tool.

"This is Scott," Sara needlessly explained, resting her mug on one knee and gesturing to her brother with her free hand. "Scott, this is Suvi."

"Hi," Suvi smiled at him and waved with her fingers.

"Finally, I get to meet her!" Scott rolled onto his side to look at them, blue eyes a shade darker than Sara's locking with Suvi's. His expression grew deadly serious. "I need to pass judgement on you to make sure you're worthy of my sister's affections."

"What?" Suvi asked nervously.

Scott nodded gravely. "I take my brotherly duties very seriously. The last person she brought home was some Alliance meathead and he didn't last long at all. Personality of a dead varren."

"My God, will you ever let that go?" Sara cried, tipping back her head to groan up at the ceiling.

"No, Sara," Scott replied grimly, eyes flicking to his sister. "I will never forget the mistake that was Gary." He looked back to Suvi. "She doesn't date a whole lot now, so what makes you so special?"

"Um…"

"Shut up, Scott!" Sara growled at her brother. "Does she look like a military meathead? Ignore him," she told Suvi, "he thinks he's funny."

"I'm hilarious."

"No, you're not, and I hate you." Sara glared at him.

"You can't hate me, I'm the better twin." He shot Suvi a wide grin. "Funnier, more attractive…" He ticked them off on his fingers.

Suvi replied with a mischievous smile as she sat beside Sara on the bed she had occupied. Sara's fingers immediately sought out Suvi's. "I wouldn't say that…" She said, linking their fingers.

Scott raised an amused eyebrow, pausing mid-count.

"Shut down!" Sara sniggered, leaving a proud kiss against Suvi's cheek.

"I like her," Scott said, pointing one finger at Suvi. She noticed a small grey clip attached to his finger tip, continuously feeding back his vital signs to Lexi's omni-tool. While there were dark rings around his eyes and his skin seemed pale, Suvi had nothing to compare Scott's current appearance to, and so couldn't say how unwell he looked. But there were signs. The clip on his finger, the electrodes visible under the collar of his loose shirt, the mark on his hand from an IV line that had been withdrawn. Despite all this, she wouldn't have noticed from his cheerful demeanour had the physical signs not been there.

"So, I get the brotherly seal of approval?" Suvi asked, playing along.

"You already had it," Scott tipped her a wink. "Anyone that makes Sara grin like a loon for no reason is good in my book."

"I do not grin like a loon!" Sara said indignantly.

"You kind of do," Lexi said, glancing up from her omni-tool with a smile. Sara gave her a look of utmost betrayal. "And on that note, I'll leave you to it. Scott, if you get up, I _will_ know."

Scott rolled his eyes as Lexi left them, heading further along the medbay and out of sight behind a bank of computers.

"She's so _bossy_ ," he complained, flopping onto his back.

"If you do as she says you'll get better faster…" Sara said in a sing-song voice. Scott turned his head and eyed her up suspiciously.

"I think you're lying."

"I would never." Sara gave her most angelic smile.

"Oh, Sara, your horns are showing through your halo…" Suvi told her seriously.

"Good to see she doesn't fool you." Scott grinned at her.

"I knew I shouldn't have introduced you two…" Sara sighed.

* * *

Suvi was relieved to find she liked Scott. She hadn't realised just how much that meant to her until the moment he made her laugh while telling her a story of toddler Sara upending a pot of paint and pasting bright blue handprints all over her father's N7 armour. He was fun in a playful way, constantly teasing Sara, who gave as good as she got. Suvi wondered what it must have been like growing up with Alec Ryder for the Ryder twins. They were nothing like their father, wild and mischievous where he had seemed so grim and professional.

Her eyes shifted from Scott's broad grin, to look behind him as she saw someone approaching from across the medbay. Lexi had returned.

"Okay, you two, time to go," she told Sara and Suvi. "Scott needs to rest."

Sara sniggered at her brother. "You have a scheduled nap?"

"No!" He protested, glaring up at Lexi good naturedly. "I can't wait for you to go back to the Tempest."

If his words insulted her, Lexi didn't show it. She merely folded her arms over her chest and raised one eyebrow. "Mmhmm."

"It was lovely to meet you, Scott," Suvi said politely as she stood up.

"You too!" He replied, holding out his hand for her to shake. His grip was warm and surprisingly strong for a man confined to bed after two comas, and a kidnapping and torture. He shook her hand heartily, then raised himself on his elbows to watch her and Sara leave. As they turned into the corridor outside the medbay she heard Lexi promise to get him walking the following morning.

"So, that was Scott," Sara said, glancing sideways at Suvi and feigning nonchalance. Suvi smiled and linked arms with Sara.

"He's great," she assured the Pathfinder, and felt Sara relax beside her as they walked. "Kinda funny."

"Don't let him hear you say that!" Sara warned playfully and Suvi grinned at her.

"I won't, don't worry."

"His head'll get so big it'll fall off his shoulders," Sara rolled her eyes and Suvi laughed.

"I don't think it works like that, you know?"

"Oh, I know," Sara replied. "Nerd."

"You're a nerd too." Suvi nudged her hip against Sara's.

"But, I'm a cool nerd! I have guns and a ship."

"If you're mean I'll go," Suvi teased, trying to pull away but finding a strong hand clamped to her forearm.

"Nope." Sara grinned down at her. Suvi cuddled back into her side with a soft laugh.

"I wanted to speak with you earlier, but it didn't seem right with Scott there," she said, shifting her datapad into her other hand so she could slide her palm down Sara's arm and entwine their fingers.

"Oh?" She felt Sara look down at her, and tipped her head to meet her gaze with an excited grin and a nod.

"I met up with the science team earlier," she said. "They're working with the angara to set up a joint research body!" Sara whimpered in response, looking panicked, and Suvi faltered. "Uh, not the reaction I was hoping for…"

"I'm happy, really!" Sara said. "But…Um…" She floundered. "Idon'twantyoutoleavetheTempest." She blushed and looked down at her feet. She still had duties as a Pathfinder, her work was far from complete. If Suvi and her team were working with the angara would they see each other often? Not often enough for her liking. Maybe she should quit. Could Pathfinders quit? She didn't know, no one had ever-

"I'm not leaving the Tempest, Sara," Suvi chuckled and squeezed her hand affectionately. "Take a breath." Sara did so, lips quirking up on one side as she looked back to Suvi.

"Am I incredibly lame?"

"Not at all," Suvi promised with a fond smile. Sara kissed her temple in thanks, then gestured to the datapad Suvi still carried.

"Okay, so show me the data I know you're dying to tell me about."

And that was that. Suvi eagerly dropped her hand to type on her datapad and access the information she had recently gathered, enthusiastically describing PH compositions and growth patterns and all kinds of things Sara had no clue about but was eager to learn if it was Suvi doing the teaching.


	16. Epilogue part 2

The Tempest had landed at Prodromos earlier that day on a routine check (read: Tann badgered Sara until she finally relented and agreed to visit) that had turned up nothing amiss. Kett activity had fallen drastically since the main bulk of their forces had withdrawn from Heleus, and activating Meridian had sped up the terraforming process started by the Eos vault.

Sara stood at the ramp in the cargo bay of her ship waiting for Suvi to show up. She wore her cargos and tank top with a pistol strapped to her hip and a heavy-duty cloth bag slung over one shoulder. Patrols had assured her the area surrounding the outpost were safe and so it was time to make good on a promise made a long time ago.

"Going somewhere, Ryder?" Jaal asked, appearing beside her with some kind of circuitry in hand. Gil had been giving him unneeded technology to pull apart and fiddle with, and comparing notes with each other.

"I will be," she replied impatiently, "if Kallo ever lets Suvi go." What was taking so long? Jaal chuckled, a low rumble deep in his chest.

"What's so funny?" Sara demanded, turning her head to look at him.

"Oh, nothing, nothing," he replied, though his eyes were alight with humour, "I was just thinking about how guarded you used to be when we first met. Now you are more open. More angaran."

Sara's gaze drifted past him as she mulled that over. "I guess you can blame Suvi for that." She shrugged her shoulders.

"I heard that!" Suvi called down to them from the open deck above. Sara and Jaal both craned their necks to see her stepping onto the lift. She wore casual trousers and a T-shirt with a lightweight jacket over the top, ready for the trip out into the empty vastness of Eos beyond the bustling outpost.

"What are you blaming on me?" She asked, raising a challenging eyebrow at Sara, leaning on the railing as the lift descended.

"Nothing you need worry your pretty head about." Sara palmed the button at the top of the ramp to open the doors. Sun-warmed air swirled through into the mechanically cooled Tempest, ruffling her hair and carrying sand up the ramp that ticked softly against the metal panels. "Now get over here already! I've been waiting ages." She sent a faux-pout Suvi's way, watching as the elevator finally touched down.

"I'm only late because Kallo spent five minutes giving me survival tips and then I had to get changed." She gestured to her clothes as she stepped off the elevator platform.

Sara shook her head. "Excuses, excuses," she teased. Suvi bumped her knuckles lightly against Sara's shoulder as she reached her.

"Oh, shush, you," she said, reaching out with her other hand to link their fingers together.

Jaal laughed and squeezed Sara's shoulder as he moved passed her, heading for the elevator platform Suvi had just vacated. "Enjoy your date."

"It's not a date!" Sara snorted. "I'm showing Suvi how to fire a gun!"

Jaal turned to face them as the elevator rose. "You're spending time with your beloved," he stated with a grin, "I'd call that a date."

Sara blushed as the elevator reached its destination and Jaal moved out of sight. "Sometimes I wish he wouldn't say things," she muttered. But really she should thank him, for speaking the things for her that she struggled to give voice to herself.

"Awww, he's sweet," Suvi squeezed her hand. "Come on, let's get this over with."

"You make it sound like such a chore," Sara raised her eyebrows at Suvi, leading her down the ramp and into the shaded sand beneath the Tempest.

Outside, the late evening air still clung stubbornly to the heat of the day. The setting sun painted the Prodromos buildings in fiery orange. The lake they clustered around had turned into rippling bronze, reflecting the cloudless sky above.

"I just mean," Suvi replied, shading her eyes from the still-bright sun with her free hand as she looked at Sara, "I'm going to make an utter fool of myself. I hope you're a patient teacher…"

Sara puffed out her chest. "I am known throughout the galaxy for my patience!" She swept a hand in front of herself to emphasize the point, earning a laugh from Suvi.

"So, where exactly are we going?" She asked after a moment. They had started to follow one of the many roads that had been formed by the repeated passing of vehicles leaving the outpost.

"Just up there," Sara pointed to the cliffs overlooking Prodromos, "I've told the colonists to expect to hear gunfire." She looked sideways at Suvi and grinned, clearly looking forwards to this. Suvi pretended not to notice as she eyed up the steep climb, determined to prove she was more than an academic that spent most of her time in climate-controlled labs picking through data. She could be adventurous too.

It took them twenty minutes to reach the area Sara had picked out, walking uphill at a leisurely pace. In that time, the sun had dipped lower in the sky, lengthening shadows further. Prodromos was now mostly in darkness below them, sheltered by the natural rock basin. Lights twinkled in the buildings, glittering across the glassy surface of the lake.

"What a view…" Suvi said softly, shrugging out of her jacket. The climb had made her cheeks flush and the back of her neck felt damp with sweat.

Sara stood beside her, eyeing her up discretely in her peripheral. She was so used to seeing Suvi in her uniform this felt like a real treat. She let her bag slide down her shoulder, caught it in her hand and reached inside, withdrawing a metal canteen. She unscrewed the cap and held out the flask to Suvi.

"Here."

Suvi gratefully took it and had a mouthful of icy cold water, then handed it back, thanking her. Sara drank from the canteen then screwed the cap back on and dropped it back into the bag. She took Suvi's jacket and stowed that away in the bag too, then straightened and grinned at her.

"Okay, so we're doing this old school." She walked over to a flat-topped rock nearby, then knelt beside it and rummaged in her bag, producing several old rations tins that she had saved for the occasion and lining them up on the rock. She hurried back over to Suvi and dropped the bag at her feet. "Watch and learn," she said with a cocky grin.

Suvi blinked as Sara whirled and drew her pistol in one fluid motion. She fired off five shots in quick succession, knocking down a tin with each bullet then turned back to face her, spinning the pistol around her trigger finger and holstering it. Suvi's jaw fell open in awe.

"And that's the way it's done." Sara folded her arms over her chest and smirked.

"I hope you don't expect me to do that!" Suvi exclaimed. She knew Sara was showing off but, damn it, that had been amazing. And hot.

"Let's start with the basics," Sara said, and drew the pistol again, thanking her lucky stars she had taken an instant interest in the N7 training her father had given her and Scott, that she had taken further before heading to Andromeda. She talked Suvi through the various different parts of the weapon, explaining gun safety and how it all worked, then left her to set up the tins again. "Keep the safety on, I don't want you accidentally shooting me in the ass."

"Very funny," Suvi remarked dryly. Still, she kept the gun aimed firmly at her feet, finger no where near the trigger.

"I thought so too." Sara stepped back from the rock and paused a moment to make sure the wind wouldn't knock the tins down again, then made her way back over to Suvi and stood behind her.

"Is this the part where I do the shooting?" Suvi asked, feeling suddenly nervous. She had never fired a gun before. It felt alien to her, heavy and warm in her palm. Sara had made it look so easy and, to be honest, she kind of wanted to show off a little in front her too. But the outcome of her firing the weapon would be wildly different.

"Almost," Sara said, adjusting Suvi's stance by nudging the outside of her right foot against the inside of Suvi's. Satisfied she then moved Suvi's arms up into firing position, standing beside her to check her grip.

"You didn't use both hands," Suvi said in confusion as she was made to support her firing hand with her free hand. Sara raised her eyes to meet Suvi's, lips twitching into that delightfully infuriating smirk.

"I know," she replied arrogantly, moving behind her again. She placed her hands on Suvi's hips and rested her chin against her shoulder. "Now, focus down the sights. Line up your shot and fire when ready."

Suvi licked dry lips and swallowed, finding it incredibly difficult to think with Sara's hands on her, and her breath hot against her neck. "You're not making this easy," she mumbled.

"It's just math," Sara told her playfully, "you can do that…"

Sara was right. Suvi narrowed her eyes, staring down the sights of the gun and attempting to ignore the way Sara seemed to be massaging the back of her hips with her thumbs. Actively throwing her off? She wasn't sure.

Whatever. She focussed on the gun and her targets.

It was just maths.

She squeezed the trigger. The loud crack from the barrel was startling when she was the one firing, and the kick back from the gun itself. Her eyes widened and she uttered a soft gasp of surprise. Her shot went wide, throwing up a little puff of sand several feet to the side of the rock the tins sat atop.

"Okay?" Sara checked. Suvi nodded mutely. "That was good! Very close. Try again. I'll give you a kiss if you knock one down." She butted her head playfully against Suvi's.

"You're such a tease," Suvi rolled her eyes and lined up another shot, predicting where she had gone wrong the first time. Sara stayed quiet, letting her concentrate. She squeezed the trigger again and watched in dismay as she instead fired between the first two tins in the line. "Drat…" She had overcompensated for the prior mistakes.

Several failed attempts later Sara decided to help out, sensing Suvi was becoming frustrated despite each adjustment bringing her shots closer and closer to the target, walking the shots in. She placed her hands over Suvi's and matched her stance.

"Breath in with me and hold it," she instructed, cheek resting against Suvi's hair. Suvi struggled to stay focussed on the task at hand. Sara's hands were warm and soft against her own. "One, two-" on three Sara inhaled and held it, waited a beat, and squeezed the trigger. Suvi gasped as a tin flew backwards from the rock, hit the sand behind it and rolled. Sara laughed at her reaction.

"Okay, now you do the next one." She dropped her hands back to Suvi's waist.

Suvi dutifully readjusted her stance, going through the motions Sara had just put her through. She squeezed the trigger and the second tin flipped backwards.

"I did it!"

"You did! Well done!" Sara grinned and left a kiss behind her ear. "Now get the others. Show 'em who's boss."

Suvi missed several times but eventually had the other tins down in the sand too. Sara set them up to be knocked down a few more times before the growing darkness made it too hard to see them.

"Guess we should head back," Sara said as she looked up at the sky, now dusky purple and dotted with bright stars, twinkling like diamonds.

"That was a very fun first date," Suvi said, handing the pistol back to Sara, who put the safety on and holstered it.

"Date, huh?" She asked. "Should I invite you back to my place for coffee?" She winked at Suvi.

Time to wipe that smug grin off her face.

"I'd like that," she said softly, trailing her fingers sensuously down Sara's bare arm as she turned away to head back down the path to Prodromos. Sara gaped after her, still feeling the after effects of the shiver of pleasure that had just raced the length of her spine.

Her brain snapped back into action and she sprinted to the rock to collect the now-holey tins with a cry of, "Okay, then!"

Suvi barely managed to contain the snort of laughter as she walked away.

Sara caught up with her just as the road began to slope down. Suvi gave her a look of wide-eyed innocence.

"What's the rush?" She asked sweetly. Sara shrugged casually, sensing Suvi was now getting her back for the rather touchy-feely shooting lesson.

"No rush." She hiked the bag strap further up her shoulder and reached down to take Suvi's hand. _The little minx._ "It _was_ a fun date." Two could play at that game. "And you learned a valuable life skill!"

"Oh, so you'll admit it's a date now?" Suvi teased, bumping her hip against Sara's. "I thought Jaal was wrong?" Sara stuck out her tongue at her. "Anyway, I think I'd rather leave the shooting to you…"

* * *

As they neared the Pathfinder's quarters back on the Tempest, Sara dropped Suvi's hand and slowed her pace.

"Are you sure you don't have anything important to do?" She asked. "Cuz I'm real tired now." She gave the fakest yawn Suvi had ever seen, complete with an overexaggerated stretch. Suvi glanced down at the sliver of bare stomach revealed by that movement.

"I'm pretty sure," she said, stepping forwards and sliding her arms around Sara's waist to kiss her. As expected, Sara responded immediately, dropping her hands to Suvi's shoulders and smiling against her lips. She walked them backwards through the door to her room, only breaking their kiss after hearing the doors slide shut after them.

"Okay, I'll go make us something to drink," she said, pulling away. Suvi grabbed her hand and dragged her back. "Oh, I thought you wanted coffee…?" Sara gave her a look of mock confusion.

"I don't want coffee," Suvi replied, not rising to the teasing. Her voice was low, eyes burning with passion. "I want you."

"Oh?" A slow smirk spread across Sara's face. Suvi placed a palm flat against Sara's chest and pushed, walking her backwards across the room towards the bed as Sara made no move to resist her despite easily being strong enough to do so. That crooked smile, the cocky gleam in her eyes, was driving her insane. And she was pretty sure Sara knew it.

"SAM?" She said, without taking her eyes off Sara's. The back of Sara's legs hit the bed and she sat, smirking up at Suvi. "Lock the door."

* * *

 **A/N: So there is one more update on its way in the next few days. It will be courtesy of Walkeroflonelyroads who has been incredibly helpful throughout this fic :P**


	17. Epilogue part 3

**A/N: So! This is actually created by Walkeroflonelyroads. He sent me a rough work up and I liked it, so here it is! Fanfiction of my fanfic! (How cool is that?) I have tweaked it and added a little but this is pretty much what I was sent.**

* * *

"I have something to show you," Suvi announced softly from behind Sara, and Sara jumped about a foot in the air in surprise. She had been stood in front of the windows in her quarters on board the Tempest, staring out at the light streams flickering by as they raced towards the Nexus at faster than light speeds. She was bored because it was late aboard her ship and everyone was sleeping, except for Suvi who had been working on the Bridge. She didn't want to bother the redhead while she was working and SAM had been no fun, entertaining her briefly with some of his new jokes, but they grew old fast. So, she had been standing and staring and thinking aimlessly until a quiet Scottish accent broke through the reverie.

"Sheesh, you're like a ninja!" Sara hissed, whipping round to face the redhead, who responded with an impish smile that she couldn't help but return, and sidled up to her. She leaned against the railing beside the Pathfinder and glanced up at her as Sara returned her gaze to the flickering light.

"And you're not asleep, because…?" She asked, turning to face the window and pressing into Sara's warm side and leaning her cheek against her shoulder. Sara wrapped an arm around her shoulders without even thinking about it.

"I think I'm too used to sharing a bed with you." Suvi glanced up at her and raised an eyebrow, trying to stop the smirk that tugged at her lips. " _Sleeping_ ," Sara said emphatically, meeting her gaze in amusement. "Now what did you want to show me?"

"I was going to wait until morning, but seeing as you're awake…" Suvi stepped away, pulling at Sara's hands to make her follow.

"Where are we going?" Sara asked curiously as they left her room, allowing herself to be dragged.

"Meeting room," Suvi said, as though that explained everything. Sara frowned in confusion and followed Suvi as she climbed the ladder outside her room to the next deck up. She could feel the thrum of the Tempest engines vibrating faintly through the metal rungs.

"I don't have any calls queued," she said. At least, none that she knew of. She stepped onto the illuminated walkway and turned to face Suvi, who just gave her a knowing grin and motioned for Sara to keep up with her as she hurried away, further into the ship, towards the tech lab. "Suvi…" Sara whined in protest, wanting to know what it was she was being taken to. Though the secrecy left her with a thrill of excitement.

"Oh, stop, you," Suvi laughed softly and reached back for Sara's hand, leading her past the glowing terminals that took up the middle of the lab deck, and up the ramp to the meeting room above. "I made something for you." She released Sara's fingers and approached the vidcon, swiping a hand over the controls to wake it up. Orange light bathed the area in a fiery glow and Suvi began typing. "Well, for everyone really," she added as a holographic preview filled the screen. "I thought we should have these images for posterity. Everyone knows the stories of Pathfinder Ryder, the legend of the title. But no one knows _who_ she is…"

"That's me…" Sara said needlessly, eyeing up the display in front of them and feeling a swell of emotion inside her chest as she began to realise exactly what it was that Suvi had done.

Suvi nodded her head and typed in a command to call up the image fully. It was Sara, sitting on a recovery bed in the Tempest medbay with her hands wrapped around a mug of coffee.

"After Eos," Suvi said, smiling at the stunned expression on her Pathfinder's face as she gently guided Sara's hand to the next button. And the next. And the next.

Each holo left Sara more and more breathless, still images of her, caught candidly: Sara, wide-eyed in wonder, coming up the elevator of the Tempest; Sara, geared up, grinning and giving a thumbs up to the camera, off on her first mission on Eos; a snoozing Sara in the galley, bandages visible beneath her tank top courtesy of that Fiend she managed to kill singlehandedly…

"They're all…me…" The rest of the crew found themselves in some images, but the focus was clear. Sara opened her mouth to say something more, but the amount of effort involved in putting these images together moved her. They caught moments of her that no one else saw-here she was staring glumly out at the ward in the Hydroponics garden on the Nexus. She remembered feeling lost at that very exact time, before Suvi bumped into her, and they'd gone on to chat about Andromedan rocks.

"You thought no one would want to document you making history?" Suvi asked playfully, and Sara just stared at her, before glancing back at the holo and tapping the button to cycle through more images. Sara, striking a heroic pose while Peebee pulled a ridiculous face behind her. Drinks on the Nexus with the whole crew. Sara, hungover. Sara, armoured up and peering through the scope of her sniper as she performed a last weapons check. A group shot Sara had taken of herself and the ground crew with Prodromos in the background.

The last one knocked the wind out of her. She and Suvi, staring into the camera. No shenanigans. No playful touches. Simply the two of them, comfortably in each other's arms, smiling at the camera in total contentment. By far it was the most ordinary of all the holos Sara had seen, but she knew right there and then, _that_ was the most beautiful one.

"It's…A little something I put together. For you. For…us," Suvi whispered. "An album of you. The Pathfinder. The people will know more about their saviour. How much she meant to me," she lifted Sara's chin at that last sentence, lightly capturing her lips with her own.

Sara buried her face in Suvi's neck, feeling tears prick her eyes. Tears of happiness that she stubbornly pushed back.

"What-" Sara faltered, her voice thick. She cleared her throat and took a breath, Suvi's fingers working through her pony-tail comfortingly. "What are you going to call it? This collection, I mean," she asked at length, nuzzling Suvi. The science officer's hair tickled her chin and she smiled.

Suvi was silent for a while and Sara wondered if she had even heard. But she piped up soon enough, her soft Scottish accent earning itself a kiss against her neck.

"I thought perhaps 'A Trail of Hope'?"

"Mmm. Corny, I like it," Sara said, raising her head to meet her gaze with a cheeky grin. "Thank you."

"Then it's done," Suvi replied, leaning her forehead against Sara's. "I'll send it to the Cultural Centre on the Nexus in the morning." She pressed a lingering kiss to Sara's lips. "Right now, I think it's bed time."

* * *

 **A/N: And now we come truly to the end. I had no idea this would be so well received when I first uploaded it back in July XD It was just a little something I decided to do so I'm so glad to see 44 follows (not gonna lie, still shocked that 44 people enjoyed it enough to sign up for notifications!) and all the reviews and faves, so thank you all for that! And thanks to Walkeroflonelyroads and Major-de-Speed for listening to me whine and letting me bounce ideas off you. You da real MVPs ;P**

 **And for anyone wondering, A Trail of Hope is the name of the music that opens Andromeda. Aptly named and a track I love (Y)**

 **I will return to Andromeda, so keep an eye out! ;P**


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